‘That Was You Three Times’: CNN’s John Berman Confronts Chuck Schumer For Previously Opposing Government Shutdowns

CNN host John Berman confronted Senator Minority Leader Chuck Schumer on Wednesday for previously opposing government shutdowns.

Along with most Democrats, Schumer voted to shut the government down since the Republican-led stopgap bill did not include an extension of enhanced tax credits in the Affordable Care Act. While he defended his party for voting in favor of the shutdown on “CNN News Central,” Berman played previous clips of the New York Democrat previously calling government shutdowns “self-defeating” and “a politics of idiocy.”

“That was you three times in the past,” Berman said.

“That was in March, John, before they had done these horrible things to healthcare. Before they had introduced these rescissions that would allow them to ignore the budget process. And the bottomline is, when I was majority leader, we had 13 times to vote on a budget. Do you know why there was no shutdown? We sat and negotiated with the Republicans every time. They got some things, we got some things. They did not negotiate at all, they refused despite repeated entreaties by Hakeem [Jeffries] and me to go to the White House [and] to sit down with [Senate Majority Leader John] Thune and [House Speaker Mike] Johnson. Look, if you want to know who wants a shutdown, look at the House. Johnson had the House adjourned all this week so even if the Senate had come up with a solution, they couldn’t vote on it.”

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In September 2024, Schumer stated that a shutdown would make the average American “suffer most,” including those on Social Security.

“If the government shuts down, it will be average Americans who suffer most. A government shutdown means seniors who rely on Social Security could be thrown into chaos,” Schumer said on the Senate floor.

In January 2019, Schumer said that a government shutdown would “hold American workers hostage.” During a visit to the White House in December 2018, Schumer told President Donald Trump that he and other congressional Democrats did not want a government shutdown as Trump threatened to shut the government down over a lack of border security.

Democratic Sens. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada and independent Maine Sen. Angus King, who caucuses with Democrats, were the only within their caucus who voted to keep the government open. Republican Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul voted with the Democrats to oppose the stopgap funding bill, claiming that it did not include enough spending cuts. The stopgap bill would have kept the government open through Nov. 21.

House Speaker Mike Johnson said on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” that Democrats need to “come to their senses” and work with Republicans to pass the funding bill.

A New York Times/Siena University poll found that 65% of Americans oppose Democrats shutting down the government.