MSNBC host Jen Psaki ripped into Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York on Tuesday over Democratic defections that enabled the passage of a “minibus” spending package that would end a record-long government shutdown.
The United States Senate passed an amended continuing resolution Monday that would keep the government open through Jan. 30, 2026, while also containing appropriations for the full fiscal year for the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Veterans Affairs and military construction after seven Democrats and one independent voted to end a filibuster led by Schumer. Psaki compared the sudden passage of the spending bill to “a whipsaw.”
“I haven’t been back with a show since last Friday, so I just want to acknowledge what’s happened here in Washington over the last couple of days, because it may feel kind of like a big whipsaw if you remember this video from just a few weeks ago,” Psaki said, before playing a video of Schumer’s comments on Oct. 7.
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“Donald Trump and the Republican Party are hell-bent on taking health care away from 60 million people, closing community clinics, rural hospitals, nursing homes — all so they can keep giving tax breaks to their billionaire friends. It’s a disgrace,” Schumer said in the video. “So, Democrats have three words for this: No f*cking way. It’s literally life or death. We will not let Republicans blow up our health care system.”
Schumer came under fire from left-wing media figures and Democrats in Congress over his decision to help pass a GOP-backed spending bill to prevent a government shutdown in March, citing concerns about what the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) might do.
“I mean, that guy was fiery. There was ominous music, he swore, I mean, there was a lot in that video. What happened to that guy? And of course, Democrats had every reason to feel like they were in a good position to keep up the fight, I mean, for a range of reasons,” Psaki said. “Polling just last week from NBC News found that voters blame Trump and Republicans for the shutdown over Democrats by a 10-point margin. And that was before Democrats absolutely cleaned the clocks of Republicans all across the country last Tuesday, signaling that voters were behind their efforts to stand up to this administration.”
“But after all that, after the party unity and the favorable polling and the massive election wins, the lesson that eight members of the Senate Democratic Caucus that we know of took away was apparently this,” Psaki said, before playing a video posted to social media by Independent Sen. Angus King of Maine, who had repeatedly voted to pass the continuing resolution.
“So standing up to Donald Trump didn’t work. It actually gave him more power,” King said, with Psaki responding, “Um, no, that’s not the lesson. Agree to disagree there, I guess, Senator King.”
The spending bill passed by a 60-40 vote Monday, six days after Democrats won high-profile elections in Virginia, New Jersey and New York City, while also passing a highly-partisan congressional map in California on Nov. 4. Some Democrats, including Reps. Ro Khanna of California and Seth Moulton of Massachusetts, are calling for Schumer, whose approval ratings have plummeted, to step down.
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