(Bloomberg) — Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer had two choices as the clock ticked down to the government funding deadline: drop his threat to block the Republican bill or force a disruptive March 15 shutdown.
Most Read from Bloomberg
The New York lawmaker ultimately opted for the path of least resistance after a day of contentious meetings between minority Democrats, who had hoped to use their limited leverage on a spending package to include some restraints on Elon Musk’s DOGE’s cost-cutting crusade.
The political maneuvering took place as markets, spooked over President Donald Trump’s tariff campaign, have been in headlong retreat. The S&P 500 (^GSPC) fell 1.4% on the day, bringing its three-week rout past 10%, a level that meets the technical threshold for a correction. It’s down more than 6% for the year. The tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 Index (^NDX), also in a correction, tumbled 1.9% on the day.
At close: March 13 at 4:48:06 PM EDT
Schumer’s was an on-brand choice for a party that has pitched itself as the voice of reason in Trump’s Washington. Several Democrats worried aloud in recent days about the political consequences of a government shutdown and wanted to train their fire instead on bigger battles over Medicaid and other broadly supported government benefits.
Yet Schumer’s decision, which all but guarantees the government will remain open, also risks alienating a growing number of restive voters and lawmakers who have become frustrated with the party’s fumbling for a response to Trump.
Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, a prominent Democratic progressive, had urged Schumer earlier in the day not to capitulate.
“Dems from the toughest seats in America stuck their neck out to protect people,” she said in a social media post. “Senate needs to fight.”
The party’s most dedicated and active voters are clamoring for a confrontation to constrain Trump and Musk’s efforts to dismantle entire federal agencies. And several moderates, including Virginia’s Mark Warner and Arizona’s Mark Kelly, were also primed Thursday for the clash.
“I know what I’m doing,” freshman Ruben Gallego, an Arizona Democrat, brusquely told reporters on Thursday afternoon as he prepared to fight the Republican bill.
The tension over the shutdown within the Democratic caucus was clear on Thursday as shouting could be heard for the third day in a row outside a closed-door party lunch. The growing list of moderates lining up to battle Republicans seemed to indicate a tidal change, one that made a shutdown far more likely.
Story Continues
