Chuck Schumer CONFRONTED for Previously Opposing Government Shutdowns

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Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer voted to shut down the government on Wednesday along with most of his party over their opposition to the current stopgap spending bill, particularly regarding giving free healthcare to illegal aliens.

But in the past, Schumer was against government shutdowns. He even called them "a politics of idiocy."

This was something that CNN - yes, CNN - had to remind him on Wednesday.

CNN host played past clips of Schumer denouncing government shutdowns, which the senate minority leader called "self-defeating" at the time.

CNN host John Berman said, “That was you three times in the past."

Schumer replied, “That was in March, John, before they had done these horrible things to healthcare. Before they had introduced these rescissions that would allow them to ignore the budget process. And the bottomline is, when I was majority leader, we had 13 times to vote on a budget."

"Do you know why there was no shutdown?" Schumer asked. "We sat and negotiated with the Republicans every time. They got some things, we got some things. They did not negotiate at all, they refused despite repeated entreaties by Hakeem (Jeffries) and me to go to the White House, to sit down with (Senate Majority Leader John) Thune and (House Speaker Mike) Johnson. Look, if you want to know who wants a shutdown, look at the House. Johnson had the House adjourned all this week so even if the Senate had come up with a solution, they couldn’t vote on it.”

Sure... if that's how Schumer wants to deflect.

Republicans are calling what's happening now the "Schumer Shutdown" for a reason.

Schumer claimed in September 2024 that a government shutdown would make the average American “suffer most," especially hitting those on Social Security.

“If the government shuts down, it will be average Americans who suffer most," he said on the Senate floor. "A government shutdown means seniors who rely on Social Security could be thrown into chaos."

Five years before that, in January 2019, Schumer said that a government shutdown would “hold American workers hostage.”

When President Trump threatened a government shutdown over a lack of border security in 2018, Schumer said he and his party did not want a shutdown.

He said this repeatedly. There's no running from it. Everyone can see it.

And make no mistake, Chuck Schumer OWNS this latest shutdown.