Vice president J.D. Vance accused Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) of shutting down the federal government to protect his job, saying Schumer caved to pressure from his liberal base in order to stave off a primary challenge.
On the first full day of the shutdown, Vance told reporters at the White House that Schumer is afraid of being replaced by progressive upstart Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), Fox News reported.
"But the reality here, and let’s be honest about the politics, is that Chuck Schumer is terrified he’s going to get a primary challenge from Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez," Vance said. "The reason why the American people’s government is shut down is because Chuck Schumer is listening to the far-left radicals in his own party because he’s terrified of a primary challenge."
The federal government shut down on Wednesday night after Democrats refused to pass a Republican-backed "clean" continuing resolution.
Democrats, led by Schumer and House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-Ny.), have refused to budge until Republicans agree to extend enhanced Obamacare subsidies. Republicans say they are willing to discuss the issue once the government is back open.
Schumer's new, confrontational approach is a shift from earlier this year, when he bucked his own party to help Trump pass a funding bill in March.
At the time, Schumer was criticized by the left-wing base, which accused him of handing leverage over federal spending to Trump, but Schumer said shutting down the country would give Trump even more power.
Schumer's fears may be coming true as Trump uses the new shutdown to fire federal workers and withhold funding from blue cities and states.
For years, Democrats opposed shutdowns and criticized Republicans who used them as leverage to demand spending cuts. But now it's the Democrats who are embracing a strategy of brinkmanship, while Republicans lament all of the government services that have been suspended.
"Our troops are not getting paid starting today because of the Chuck Schumer wing of the Democratic Party," Vance said.
"We have people who require food assistance, low-income Americans who require food assistance, who will not get it unless we reopen the government, thanks to Chuck Schumer and his wing of the Democratic Party."
Vance and other Republicans have also knocked Schumer for prioritizing healthcare for illegal aliens, a claim Democrats have vehemently denied.
While Democrats insist that illegal aliens cannot receive federal health benefits, Vance has argued that federal dollars indirectly subsidize Medicaid programs in blue states that cover illegal aliens.
"When the government gives billions of dollars to New York for Medicaid, that frees up state money in New York that can then be spent on illegals," he wrote on X.
