The New York senator talks about Democrats’ down-ballot strategies.
Sen. Chuck Schumer has served as a New York senator since 1999 and the Democratic Senate majority leader since 2021.
With much of the country focused on Kamala Harris and Donald Trump’s race for the White House, Schumer joined ABC News’ Kayna Whitworth on Wednesday to discuss the Georgia school shooting, the Israel-Hamas conflict, government funding, down-ballot Democrats’ chances and his hopes for bipartisan cooperation.
Well, I’m Kayna Whitworth here in Los Angeles. And right now on ABC News Live, we begin with our big story. Just over 60 days until the election, nominees Kamala Harris and Donald Trump are campaigning across this country, and they’re focusing heavily on those battleground states that could swing the presidency to either side of the aisle. Harris right now in New Hampshire, coming off a long road trip in the Midwest and pivotal Sun Belt states, and Donald Trump spending recent weeks speaking to voters in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Michigan and Arizona.
All of this as we approach the first debate between the two candidates — it’s just six days away. But commander in chief isn’t the only one in office, that’s of course, not the only thing on the ballot for November. Right now, there are 34 Senate seats up for grabs, more than enough to overturn the Democrats’ ultra-thin majority, all while members of Congress work to avert a government shutdown, with a deadline looming at the end of this month.
For more on this, I’m joined by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer. So, it’s a pleasure for all of us to have you here with us. Sen. Schumer, thank you for being here.
SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER: Congratulations to you and to ABC on this new venture. Good luck. Got to adapt to the changing world.
We appreciate that. And, so, listen: we have a lot to discuss here, several issues. And first, I want to start with the breaking news that we’re seeing out of Georgia today. We know that there’s four dead: two students, two teachers were murdered and nine injured. We’ve now learned that the suspect is a 14-year-old and will be tried as an adult. The sheriff called it “pure evil” just moments ago. What’s your reaction?
SCHUMER: Well, first our hearts go out to those who have lost loved ones. We respect the first responders, who always do a very good job and risk their lives. And look, we don’t know the details here, but we do know that guns are too prevalent in our society and too available to people who shouldn’t have them.
Last year, we did in the Congress, under our leadership, did for the first time limit the ability of younger people to get assault weapons. But the problem, there has to be a lot more done about guns. Now, that doesn’t reflect on what happened in the shootings. I don’t know the details, but I do know that too many people who shouldn’t have guns have them.
If we can now, let’s turn to the Israel-Hamas conflict. We know the State Department has been taking part in negotiations for a cease-fire deal. They say they will require flexibility on both sides. The U.S. has also said that this is the final offer, and it’s a take it or leave it. And I know that you have called for new elections in Israel in, last March, right? But do you think that there is any way, senator, that a deal can be done with Netanyahu in charge? Or in your opinion, is it time for him to step down?
SCHUMER: Well, first, we saw the pure evil that Hamas is by shooting these hostages, and they are shot dead because of Hamas, let’s not forget that. Look, let us hope, for the sake of the hostages and others, that both sides can come together with a negotiated deal. I know President Biden is importuning both sides to do it. And you can’t give up hope. A negotiated deal would be, a negotiated temporary cease-fire would be the best way to get the hostages released.
SCHUMER: Well, I think that we have to have both sides come together. And again, I’ve had my problems with Netanyahu, but let’s not forget Hamas. What they did was pure evil, shooting those hostages.
Certainly the responsibility lies there. Let’s talk about Speaker Johnson, expected to propose a stopgap funding measure in the House to fund the government until spring. But attaching to it new rules requiring proof of citizenship when voting. And we know a handful of House Democrats say they will support this. If this voter ID legislation is attached to the government funding bill, would you put it up for a vote or are we looking at a government shutdown here?
SCHUMER: Look, Speaker Johnson should learn from the past. You can only keep the government funding in a bipartisan way. You can’t have a group of Republicans, particularly led by right wing, hard-nosed Republicans who don’t even represent the whole Republican Party, put together a proposal with all kinds of poison pill legislation in it, and then say “This is what has to pass.” That bill may not even pass the House. I think there are some Republicans who might vote against it. It certainly has no chance in the Senate and no chance being signed by the president.
So, Speaker Johnson, look at what’s going on. You can’t pass a bill unless we come together on a bipartisan agreement. That’s what each, has happened each time in the past you’ve tried to appease your right wing, it’s failed and you’ve had to come to us and negotiate. We’re ready to negotiate a bipartisan deal.
SCHUMER: There’s so much in their bill. They have poison pills on abortion. They have poison pills on so many issues. They slash spending for programs that the vast majority of Americans support. That bill is a nonstarter. And, you know, the idea of this thing about voting there, that is law now, if you’re not, if you’re not a citizen, you can’t vote, period. You can’t do that at the federal level.
SCHUMER: Well, the bill, as I said, is filled with poison pills of all kinds that Democrats would not suggest. And the reason it is, is because again, Speaker Johnson, when he starts out, he’s afraid of his right wing. He’s afraid of his majority. So he says, what can I put in the bill that you will like? It never passes. And then they have to come negotiate with us. That’s what will happen.
And, Sen. Schumer, I do want to give you an opportunity to respond here because earlier, House Majority Whip Tom Emmer was on our air today. And frankly, he blamed you for Congress’ inability to pass a budget. He said the House has passed 71% of government funding, adding the Senate has yet to bring a bill to the floor. Give you an opportunity to respond.
SCHUMER: Yeah, he knows well that his bill is a partisan bill, that you have a Democratic Senate, a Republican House; you have to come together. In fact, we in the Senate with Patty Murray — a Democrat — and Susan Collins — a Republican — have come together with bipartisan ways of funding the government. The Republicans don’t, they just try to do it their own way, and they fail each time, and then they have to come to us and say, “Let’s come to an agreement.”
So I would say to Mr. Emmer, he’s a smart guy, tell Speaker Johnson to look at the past. Look what’s happened every single time. You cannot pass, neither party can pass a partisan bill. Let’s come together and negotiate. Stop playing the games and get this done. Don’t just throw a bone to the right wing every time because, you know, the jeopardy of the speakership is in some degree of jeopardy.
Let’s talk a little bit about some of these battleground states and the efforts to hold on to the Senate, if we can. Our ABC News polling shows that Americans trust Donald Trump on issues like inflation and the economy more than Kamala Harris. Are you at all worried that Americans trusting Republicans on those issues could perhaps affect some down-ballot Democrats in those crucial Senate races?
SCHUMER: No, our down-ballot Democrats are doing extremely well. They are focusing on delivering for their states the great legislation that we passed, in the 2022 year. Building roads and bridges and infrastructure, bringing jobs back to America in chip fab [semiconductor fabrication plants] and in other science, passing the IRA [Inflation Reduction Act], which for the first time reduced drug prices and reduced costs of energy while cleaning up the environment.
Our senators who are running, are putting, are showing the voters that they’re delivering for their states and specific issues like those that I mentioned. And the Republican candidates are just talking, you know, they’re, they’re pointing fingers, calling names. They’re not talking about getting anything done. And that’s why, surprisingly, in just about all of the battleground states, we are either ahead or in neck-and-neck contention. We’re doing much better than people ever thought we would.
And what about [Democratic Sen.] Jon Tester, though? In Montana, he’s in a tight race and he has this new ad that he put out and he says he’s touting that he worked with President Trump and saying that he stood up to President Biden. What are your thoughts on that?
SCHUMER: Look, Jon Tester represents Montana above all. And he will pursue Montana’s interests regardless of party. And that’s why he’s going to win the election.
Let’s talk a little bit about the senators, that was, this bipartisan border bill that was crafted. We know it was ultimately sunk by House Republicans at the urging of Donald Trump. But today, more than 80 organizations have written a letter to President Biden and Vice President Harris, opposing that Border Act. If Democrats win the House, the Senate and presidency, would you continue to support this bipartisan legislation, or would you urge Democrats to go back to the drawing board on it?
SCHUMER: Look, the bottom line is: let’s look at what happened here. Democrats put together a really tough bill that was supported by Republicans initially. [Republican South Dakota Sen.] John Thune, [Republican Texas Sen.] John Cornyn had said, this is a good bill. The Wall Street Journal editorial page, one of the most conservative editorial pages in the country, said it’s a good bill because it really dealt with the crisis at the border.
And all of a sudden Donald Trump says, I don’t want to pass the bill because I want chaos. I want chaos for the election. And so that’s why on the border issue now, Democrats are on offense and Republicans are on defense to follow Donald Trump because he wants chaos to win an election. That’s not what the American people want. They want a strong border bill.
And we put it before the Republicans in the Senate twice being afraid of Donald Trump, even though they initially said many good things about it. And it was a bipartisan bill to begin with. It shows you where they’re at. So we’re going to, we’re going to remain very strong on border and try to deal with the border issues in, in, in, in a way that really solves that problem and deals with the immigration problems, as well.
But just quickly, if I can, because I have another question I want to ask you, would you support the bill as is? And would you have the president sign it, if it is President Harris?
SCHUMER: We’ve had the bill twice on the floor already, and Republicans have voted no. That spoke for itself. I don’t think that will serve them well in November.
All right. I have to ask you one more question. I know they’re trying to wrap me, but I’m just curious quickly if we can senator, and thank you for your time. Kamala Harris said in an interview she did with Dana Bash that she would consider putting a Republican in her cabinet. Do you support that? And if so, which Republican do you think she should choose?
SCHUMER: You know, Kamala Harris will try to work in a bipartisan way whenever she can. That’s what we’ve done in the Senate as well. A lot of the bills I mentioned we passed, were passed with bipartisan votes. We always try to be bipartisan first, and I have no problem with her putting a Republican in the cabinet.
Sen. Schumer, I am so grateful for you taking the time to be here with us today and to talk about such a variety of issues. Thank you very much.
SCHUMER: I was proud to be here on your first day, and I hope the show is a big success.
