Chuck Schumer praises Mike Johnson's CR that omits MAGA 'hard right cuts' to keep the government open

In a Tuesday press conference, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer applauded the two-part government funding resolution proposed by House Speaker Mike Johnson, adding that it doesn’t make "the hard right cuts that the MAGA wing demands."

"When it comes to government funding, as I have long said it has to be bipartisan, and right now that’s the path we seem to be on," Schumer said.

"I’m heartened, very cautiously so, that Speaker Johnson is moving forward with a CR that precisely omits the sort of hard right cuts that would have been non-starters for Democrats."

Schumer said "I certainly don’t agree with everything he’s proposing," adding that he couldn’t "imagine" any Senators taking Johnson’s approach in drafting the bill.

"The proposal before the House does two things Democrats pushed for, and I talked to him about on the phone ahead of time: One, not making the hard right cuts that the MAGA wind demands, and second, making sure that if they’re going to do this sort of goofy ladder, that the defense is in the second part of the ladder, not first."

The deadline to pass government funding or face a shutdown is November 17.

The laddered continuing resolution would extend funding for portions of the government, split into one bill extending funding until January 19 for the Veterans Affairs, transportation, housing, the Energy Department, and military construction, among other topics, and the second portion of the bill would extending funding for the rest of the government until February 2.

The bill has faced criticism from House Freedom Caucus members because the bill lacks spending cuts. In a statement posted Tuesday, the caucus said, "The House Freedom Caucus opposes the proposed 'clean' Continuing Resolution as it contains no spending reductions, no border security, and not a single meaningful win for the American People. Republicans must stop negotiating against ourselves over fears of what the Senate may do with the promise 'roll over today and we’ll fight tomorrow. While we remain committed to working with Speaker Johnson, we need bold change."

According to The Hill, some Senate Democrats have expressed opposition to the laddered continuing resolution, as it does not include funding for Israel or Ukraine.