Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) is pushing Congress to a government shutdown because he is scared of being challenged in a primary by far-left Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), Senate Intelligence Committee Chair Tom Cotton (R-AR) theorized to Breitbart News.
After Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) reportedly left their Monday afternoon meeting with President Donald Trump without a deal to avoid a government shutdown before the Wednesday deadline, Cotton blasted the New York senator in an exclusive statement.
“Chuck Schumer is shutting down the government because he’s terrified of a primary from AOC. His actions are disgraceful,” the Arkansas Republican said when asked for his reaction to congressional Democrats’ refusal to agree on a short-term funding deal.
House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, left, and Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, both of New York, at the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, September 11, 2025. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
House Republicans were joined by a singular Democrat, Rep. Jared Golden (ME), in passing a bill on September 19 that would have kept the government funded until November 20, but Senate Democrats blocked it from advancing. Instead, they proposed their own funding bill demanding an additional $1.4 trillion for far-left projects including free health care for illegal aliens and funding for NPR and PBS, Breitbart News reported.
Republicans blocked the Democrats’ counteroffer from advancing in the Senate, leaving Congress to either come to an agreement by midnight on Tuesday, or accept a government shutdown.
Cotton’s latest statement reflects a statement he made on the Hugh Hewitt Show earlier on Monday, where he said Schumer “fears” that Ocasio-Cortez will “primary him four years from now in 2028 if he doesn’t do the far-left bidding.”
Schumer “is going to own” the shutdown if it does occur, Rep. Dusty Johnson (R-SD) said on Monday’s episode of Breitbart News Daily.
“There is not a single partisan poison pill. There’s nothing that would trip anybody up,” Johnson said. “We’re just going to hit pause for six weeks so that we can negotiate while the government is open rather than negotiate while the government is closed. Apparently, that is asking too much of Chuck Schumer.”
Olivia Rondeau is a politics reporter for Breitbart News based in Washington, DC. Find her on X/Twitter and Instagram.
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