"People are furious": House Democrats have "complete meltdown" as Schumer folds on shutdown
House Democrats erupted into apoplexy Thursday night after Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said he would support Republicans' stopgap government funding measure.
Why it matters: House Democrats feel like they "walked the plank," in the words of one member. They voted almost unanimously against the measure, only to watch Senate Democrats seemingly give it the green light.
- "Complete meltdown. Complete and utter meltdown on all text chains," said the member, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to offer sensitive details of members' internal conversations.
- A senior House Democrat said "people are furious" and that some rank-and-file members have floated the idea of angrily marching onto the Senate floor in protest.
- Others are talking openly about supporting primary challenges to senators who vote for the GOP spending bill.
Driving the news: Schumer said in a floor speech Thursday that while the GOP measure is "very bad," the possibility of a government shutdown "has consequences for America that are much, much worse."
- "A shutdown would give Donald Trump the keys to the city, the state and the country," Schumer said.
- The comments likely clear a path for at least eight Senate Democrats to vote for the bill β enough for Republicans to overcome the upper chamber's 60-vote filibuster threshold.
Zoom in: All but one House Democrat voted against the bill earlier this week, in large part because it lacks language to keep the Trump administration from cutting congressionally approved spending.
- "There were many battleground Dems in the House ... that were uncomfortable, semi-uncomfortable, with the vote," said one House Democrat. "The Senate left the House at the altar."
- House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), in remarks to his House colleagues at their annual retreat Thursday, lauded them for standing up to President Trump by voting against the bill, according to multiple sources.
- When he praised House Democrats' votes, he received a standing ovation. When he mentioned Senate Democrats, members booed.
What we're hearing: House Democrats' text chains lit up Thursday night with expressions of blinding anger, according to numerous lawmakers who described the conversations on the condition of anonymity.
- "People are PISSED," one House Democrat told Axios in a text message.
- Several members β including moderates β have begun voicing support for a primary challenge to Schumer, floating Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and Dan Goldman (D-N.Y.) as possible candidates, three House Democrats said.
- One lawmaker even vowed at the House Democratic retreat to "write a check tonight" supporting Ocasio-Cortez, said the senior House Democrat.
- Another Democrat told Axios the ideation has gone a step further: "There is definitely a primary recruitment effort happening right now ... not just Schumer, but for everyone who votes no."
What they're saying: Plenty of members have also gone public with their dismay at their Senate colleagues.
- "I know I speak for so many in our caucus when I say Schumer is misreading this moment. The Senate Dems must show strength and grit by voting no," said Rep. Becca Balint (D-Vt.).
- Said Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.): "I don't know where Schumer is coming from. ... It doesn't look good for the leader."
What to watch: Members have spent the day frantically texting and calling their home-state senators, hoping to persuade enough of them to vote against the bill to block it. That outreach has continued late into Thursday night.
- Said one member: "Folks are still working the phones tonight with their senators. We have not given up."
- Some House members, in turn, have gotten an earful from constituents. "I have also never had so many people from home personally texting meβANGRY," said another House Democrat.
- "I don't think they knew who Chuck Schumer was before today," the lawmaker said. "But they know now and they hate him."
Editor's note: This article has been updated with comment from a senior House Democrat.