Schumer: Trump is 'plunging the country into chaos'


If the government shuts down, it will be due to President Trump "throwing a tantrum," Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said Thursday evening.
During a press conference with House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), Schumer said Trump has backed away from the bipartisan spending bill that passed the Senate on Wednesday night because of pressure from the hard right. The bill did not include any funding for the border wall Trump has long promised. "The Trump temper tantrum will shut down the government but it will not get him his wall," Schumer said. The president, he added, is "plunging the country into chaos."
Pelosi said she was "shaken" by the resignation of Secretary of Defense James Mattis, one day after Trump said the Islamic State is defeated and U.S. troops should leave Syria, and praised his service. "You have leaders who have left the administration in dismay and the rest of them have left in disgrace," she said. "That's what this administration has been about."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Mattis is "one of the few symbols of strength and stability in this administration," Schumer said. "Everything that indicates stability, everything that indicates strength, everything that indicates knowledge is leaving this administration." They don't want to be fear-mongers, Pelosi added, since this "great country can withstand just about anything, but it shouldn't have to."
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
July 5 editorial cartoons
Cartoons Saturday’s political cartoons include an extrajudicial detainment camp, 'alligator Alcatraz', and tax cuts for billionaires.
-
5 explosively funny cartoons about the 4th of July
Cartoons Artists take on liberty and justice for all, a terrifying firework, and more
-
Jeff in Venice: a "triumph of tackiness"?
In the Spotlight Locals protest as Bezos uses the city as a 'private amusement park' for his wedding celebrations
-
Judge blocks Trump's asylum ban at US border
Speed Read The president violated federal law by shutting down the US-Mexico border to asylum seekers, said the ruling
-
Thai court suspends prime minister over leaked call
Speed Read Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra has been suspended, pending an ethics investigation
-
Senate passes GOP megabill after Alaska side deal
The pivotal yes vote came from Sen. Lisa Murkowski, whose support was secured following negotiated side deals for her home state Alaska
-
Trump sues LA over immigration policies
Speed Read He is suing over the city's sanctuary law, claiming it prevents local law enforcement from cooperating with federal immigration authorities
-
Obama, Bush and Bono eulogize USAID on final day
Speed Read The US Agency for International Development, a humanitarian organization, has been gutted by the Trump administration
-
The last words and final moments of 40 presidents
The Explainer Some are eloquent quotes worthy of the holders of the highest office in the nation, and others... aren't
-
Senate advances GOP bill that costs more, cuts more
Speed Read The bill would make giant cuts to Medicaid and food stamps, leaving 11.8 million fewer people with health coverage
-
Canadian man dies in ICE custody
Speed Read A Canadian citizen with permanent US residency died at a federal detention center in Miami