Sen. Chuck Schumer has delayed a tour promoting his book in Democratic cities, avoiding fury over his decision to help Republicans pass a government funding bill Friday.
Schumer on Monday cited security concerns for rescheduling his promotional tour across both coasts, but the move only fueled criticism, with many accusing the Senate Minority Leader of avoiding backlash from the Democratic base.
TV host Krystal Ball likened the New York senator’s move to the recent trend of Republican lawmakers dodging town halls to avoid constituents furious over cuts to federal programs and layoffs.
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“Schumer taking the path of Republican lawmakers and simply avoiding the public,” she wrote in a post on X.
Democrats were enraged after Schumer broke ranks with the majority of the party to join Republicans in passing a Trump-backed funding bill on Friday.
Initially opposing the bill, which keeps the government funded for the next six months, the senator defended his dramatic U-turn by arguing that preventing a government shutdown would “minimize the harm” Trump could cause.
Traditional allies in his party such as former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi disagreed, calling his decision “unacceptable.” Hakeem Jeffries, the current Speaker, refused to express confidence in Schumer’s leadership.
Democratric Rep. Ritchie Torres, who was set to participate in one of Schumer’s postponed book events in New York, slammed the senator’s decision as a “strategic miscalculation that we as a party might live to regret.”
“Bailing out the Republicans without extracting anything in return is political malpractice,” he added.
In response to Schumer’s postponement of his book tour, Adam Green, the co-founder Progressive Change Campaign Committee said in a statement to The New York Times: “We hope other Democratic senators continue meeting with their constituents and demand that their leadership fight with backbone.”
