Senator Bernie Sanders sparred with a Republican student and Americans for Tax Reform intern during a CNN town hall on Wednesday, over Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer’s handling of the Schumer Shutdown.
Rohan Naval, a student from American University, one of the country's most liberal campuses, asked Senator Sanders how he thought the Schumer Shutdown reflected the leadership of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer.
"Well, I think it reflects more on Mike Johnson‘s leadership and President Trump‘s leadership," Sanders replied. "This is a leadership that said it‘s okay to give a…well, how do you feel? You tell me. You think it‘s a good idea to give $1 trillion in tax breaks to the richest people in the country and then make massive cuts to healthcare for working-class people?"
"I think Chuck Schumer has voted for continuing resolutions 13 times in the last four years, and he has the opportunity to vote for one again, but he‘s refusing to come to the table," Naval responded.
"I think…look, as I have said, there are 53 Republicans in the Senate, correct?" Sanders said. "They need 60. What does that mean? It means you have to talk to the other side. Mike Johnson is not talking. John Thune is not talking. President Trump is not talking. That is the problem."
Crazy Bernie just got wrecked on national television 🤣 pic.twitter.com/G5Emm2gY6v
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) October 16, 2025
Democrats have continued to pin the blame for the Schumer Shutdown on Republicans and their refusal to fund an Obamacare expansion in the GOP-led funding bill. However, as the government shutdown enters its 16th day as of Thursday, it has become increasingly clear to the American people that Democrats bear the sole responsibility.
House Minority Leader Chuck Schumer had the audacity to claim that the government shutdown was actually making things better for the Democrats.
"Every day gets better for us," Schumer reportedly told Punchbowl News. "It’s because we’ve thought about this long in advance, and we knew that healthcare 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."