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The clock is ticking. Without a deal, federal funding runs dry at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday. Still, left-wing lawmakers are digging in their heels, ready to blame Republicans and even Schumer himself if government offices shutter.
Texas Congressman Greg Casar, a member of the radical House Progressive Caucus, took to X to torch Schumer’s approach. “Hell no. We don’t need a delay and a pinky promise to negotiate — we need a deal that keeps the government open and saves health care for Americans. I’m in D.C. ready to vote for that. Republicans have refused to come to the table for months. Why would Democrats acting weak change their behavior?” Casar declared.
Ironically, Schumer once presented himself as the “responsible adult” in Washington. Back in March, he led Senate Democrats to avoid a similar shutdown, declaring, “I believe it is my job to make the best choice for the country, to minimize the harm to the American people. Therefore, I will vote to keep the government open and not shut it down.” But after progressive outrage — and whispers that Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez could challenge him in a Senate primary — Schumer’s “best choice” appears to have shifted dramatically.
This week, Schumer flatly dismissed questions about using a short-term bill, stunning even his colleagues. “I’m not sure why grandpa is doing this. This just shows how out of touch he is with where the American people are at,” one frustrated House Democrat told Axios.
Meanwhile, the White House is preparing for the fallout. Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt warned on Monday that federal agencies are drafting mass layoff plans if Democrats push ahead with their shutdown games. “There will be layoffs if Democrats don’t keep the government open,” Leavitt said during her press briefing. “We are nearing a government shutdown; we are nearing a funding deadline. The president wants to make this deadline. He wants to keep this government open.”
Leavitt accused Schumer and his allies of holding federal workers hostage just to score political points. “The president is giving Democrat leadership one last chance to be reasonable, to come to the White House today to try to talk about this, and now is not the time to try to get political points against Donald Trump,” she added.
In anticipation of a shutdown, the Office of Management and Budget has already distributed internal memos directing agencies to prepare for “reduction-in-force” notices. That means employees working on non-essential programs could be hit with both furlough and termination papers. “With respect to those federal programs whose funding would lapse and which are otherwise unfunded, such programs are no longer statutorily required to be carried out,” the memo warned.
Agencies have been told to cut staff to the bare minimum once funding is restored, focusing only on core programs that are legally mandated. In unusually sharp language, the OMB guidance accused Democrats of torpedoing what was once a bipartisan process of keeping government running.
What’s unfolding in Washington is more than just a budget battle — it’s a civil war inside the Democratic Party. Schumer is caught between the far-left activists who demand confrontation and the moderates who quietly fear the political cost of a shutdown. But with time running out, it’s everyday Americans who may soon feel the pain of his party’s dysfunction.
