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Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D–NY) is facing bipartisan backlash after he declared that the ongoing federal government shutdown is “getting better for us every day,” prompting sharp condemnation from the White House and Republican lawmakers.
The controversy erupted after Schumer told colleagues the prolonged shutdown—now entering its second week—was politically beneficial for Democrats.
The shutdown began after negotiations collapsed over Democrats’ push to restore health care funding for undocumented immigrants, a measure Republicans have rejected as “reckless and unfair to taxpayers.”
“Every day gets better for us,” Schumer said, according to Punchbowl News. “It’s because we’ve thought about this long in advance, and we knew that health care would be the focal point on Sept. 30, and we prepared for it… Their whole theory was — threaten us, bamboozle us, and we would submit in a day or two.”
The remark was followed hours later by a heated exchange on the Senate floor.
Schumer accused House Speaker Mike Johnson (R–LA) of “killing his own constituents” by refusing to reopen the government on Democratic terms.
“Hear that, Mr. Speaker?” Schumer shouted. “Good Americans in your own state… will die. All because the Speaker chose to keep the House on vacation rather than negotiate with Democrats and end their Trump shutdown. Shameful.”
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Republicans immediately denounced Schumer’s comments as inflammatory and cruel, while the White House — led by President Donald Trump — called the remarks “disgusting and revealing.”
“Chuck Schumer just said the quiet part out loud: Democrats are gleefully inflicting pain on the American people over their push to give illegal aliens free health care,” said White House deputy press secretary Abigail Jackson.
“Workers are missing paychecks; travelers are missing flights; businesses are struggling; military families are forced to rely on food pantries. But to Chuck Schumer, that means ‘every day gets better.’ No matter what he thinks, Americans struggling is not good — and Democrats must stop inflicting this pain on them and reopen the government now,” Jackson said.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt echoed that sentiment in a post on X, writing: “While federal workers stress over missed paychecks, military families turn to food pantries, and airports around the country face delays — Chuck Schumer and the Democrats are bragging that ‘every day gets better’ for them. What a disgusting and revealing statement.”
Senate Democrats on Tuesday blocked for the eighth time an effort to reopen the federal government.
The move came despite mounting pressure following the Trump administration’s warning of mass firings, announced over the weekend by Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought.
The administration has argued that the partial shutdown cannot continue without significant spending reforms, while Democrats, led by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), have insisted on preserving key funding priorities.
One potential crisis was eased, however, after President Donald Trump directed the Pentagon to reallocate funds to ensure that military service members receive their paychecks on schedule Oct. 15, even as broader government operations remain suspended, Fox News noted.
Senate Democrats are pushing for an extension of expiring Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies ahead of the Nov. 1 open enrollment period.
They argue that without congressional action, millions of Americans who rely on the tax credits will face sharp premium increases.
President Trump, however, has shown no indication of conceding to those demands. He reiterated Republicans’ position that Democrats are seeking to reverse $1.5 trillion in spending cuts enacted under what he has called the “big, beautiful bill.”
Senate Republicans have indicated they are willing to negotiate on the issue of expiring health care subsidies — but only after the government reopens.
GOP lawmakers say reforms to the Affordable Care Act program should be discussed as part of a broader appropriations package, not as a condition for ending the shutdown.
