U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., repeatedly slammed Democratic Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer’s decision to enable a Republican bill that would avoid a government shutdown to move forward, calling the move a “tremendous mistake” and “a huge slap in the face” in media interviews.
“It is almost unthinkable why Senate Democrats would vote to hand the few pieces of leverage that we have away for free,” Ocasio-Cortez said in a CNN interview that aired Thursday, in which she also made the “tremendous mistake” comment.
Also this week, Ocasio-Cortez told reporters “there is a wide sense of betrayal.” Her criticisms prompted speculation that she could seek to challenge Schumer, who also hails from New York, for his Senate seat. Schumer is up for reelection in 2028.
While Schumer didn’t vote for the spending bill to actually become law, he lent his support behind a key procedural vote that allowed the bill to face a full vote from the Senate. On Friday evening, the Senate voted 54-46 to pass the bill, sending it to President Donald Trump‘s desk to be signed into law.
In remarks on the Senate floor Thursday, Schumer warned that a government shutdown would be worse than the spending bill, which he described as itself “a terrible option.”
“But I believe allowing Donald Trump to take even much more power via a government shutdown is a far worse option,” Schumer said.
The bill provides for government funding through September.
“This turns the federal government into a slush fund for Donald Trump and Elon Musk, it sacrifices congressional authority, and it is deeply partisan,” Ocasio-Cortez said on CNN.
Ocasio-Cortez didn’t directly answer CNN host Jake Tapper’s question on whether she would challenge Schumer for his Senate seat.
“I think that what we need right now is a united Senate Democratic caucus that can stand up for this country,” she said.
