OAN Staff James Meyers
11:15 AM – Friday, March 14, 2025
“Squad” member Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez went after Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer on Thursday after he said he would not stop a GOP-backed stopgap bill in order to avoid a partial government shutdown.
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According to CNN, Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) is gathering Democrats to fight against Schumer’s (D-N.Y.) plan and cited that some of her Democrat colleagues have privately asked her to consider a primary challenge against him.
When asked by CNN‘s host Jake Tapper during an interview if Schumer is a “weak” leader, she did contend that not voting against the proposed bill would be a “mistake” for the Democrats.
“But we have — we have time between now and tomorrow, and I hope that individuals that are considering that — reconsider it, I genuinely do. I don’t think it’s what New Yorkers want. I don’t think it’s what the country wants,” Ocasio-Cortez said.
The New York lawmaker said that the bill would create a “slush fund” for President Donald Trump and Elon Musk.
“I cannot urge enough how bad of an idea it is to empower and enable Donald Trump and Elon Musk in this moment. It is dangerous and it is reckless,” AOC told Tapper.
She doubled down, insisting that the time for Democrats to act is now.
“The American people, whether they are Republicans, Independents, or Democrats, are up in arms about Elon Musk and the actual gutting of federal agencies across the board,” AOC said.
“This continuing resolution codifies much of this chaos that Elon Musk is wreaking havoc on the federal government. It codifies many of those changes,” she continued.
Meanwhile, a partial government shutdown is set to begin at the end of day on Friday if a funding bill is not passed prior to that. The Republican-led House just barely passed a six-month counting resolution earlier this week.
Before Schumer’s approval, Senator John Fetterman (D-Pa.) was the only Senate Democrat to openly state that he will support not blocking the Republican stopgap bill. Other Democrats have released statements saying they oppose the GOP proposal.
Government shutdowns are very expensive for the country.
According to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, the last government shutdown was estimated to have caused a permanent loss of about $3 billion, according to CBS News.
The Senate has until 23:59 ET on Friday to decide on the matter before a shutdown takes place.
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