The White House criticized Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., for making a “disgusting and revealing” remark regarding the ongoing shutdown.
Schumer spoke with Punchbowl News, a news outlet located in Washington, D.C., and stated that as the shutdown continues, things keep getting “better” for the Democrats.
“Every day gets better for us,” Schumer reportedly told Punchbowl News. “It’s because we’ve considered this well in advance, and we knew that health care would be the focal point on Sept. 30, and we prepared for it… Their whole theory was — threaten us, bamboozle us, and we would submit in a day or two.”
GOP BLAMES SCHUMER FOR SHUTDOWN TO APPEASE ‘MARXIST FLANK’ AMID AOC PRIMARY CHALLENGE BUZZ
Republicans have blamed Schumer for the shutdown, arguing it was intended to placate the Democrat Party’s progressive faction, particularly in his home state as Zohran Mamdani holds the advantage in New York City’s mayoral race and speculation abounds concerning Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., potentially challenging Schumer in the upcoming primary. She has not formally announced a Senate campaign.
“Chuck Schumer just stated the quiet part out loud: Democrats are happily inflicting pain on the American people over their efforts to give illegal aliens free health care,” White House deputy press secretary Abigail Jackson said in a statement provided exclusively to Fox News Digital.
“Workers are missing paychecks; travelers are missing flights; businesses are struggling; military families are forced to rely on food banks; but to Chuck Schumer that means ‘every day gets better.’ Regardless of what Chuck Schumer thinks, Americans struggling is not good and the Democrats must stop inflicting this pain on them and reopen the government now,” Jackson added.
In response to Fox News Digital’s request for comment, Schumer’s office sent an excerpt from his remarks on the Senate floor.
“Every day that Republicans refuse to negotiate to end this shutdown, the worse it becomes for Americans — and the clearer it becomes who’s fighting for them. Each day our argument to fix healthcare and end this shutdown improves, becoming more compelling because families are opening their letters showing how high their premiums will climb if Republicans get their way. They’re seeing why this fight matters — it’s about protecting their healthcare, their bank accounts and their futures,” Schumer said.
BLAME GAME: REPUBLICANS CLAIM SCHUMER FORCED SHUTDOWN ‘BECAUSE HE’S TERRIFIED’ OF AOC PRIMARY CHALLENGE
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt also disagreed with Schumer saying that the shutdown was beneficial for the Democrats.
“While federal workers stress over missed paychecks, military families turn to food banks, and airports around the country face delays — Chuck Schumer and the Democrats are boasting that ‘every day gets better’ for them,” Leavitt wrote on X. “What a disgusting and revealing statement. Democrats are gleeful about inflicting pain on the American people.”
On Wednesday, the White House indicated it would be increasing consequences for the shutdown.
The White House’s Office of Management and Budget (OMB) suggested plans that would not ensure that federal workers currently furloughed from the shutdown would receive backpay — overturning a 2019 law from President Donald Trump’s first administration following a 35-day shutdown, Fox News Digital learned.
The possibility of furloughed workers not receiving backpay heightens the stakes each day that Congress fails to pass a funding measure — and places greater pressure on Democrats as Trump continues to accuse them of creating the crisis.
Fox News Digital’s Diana Stancy, Deirdre Heavey and Elizabeth Elkind contributed to this report.
