Tipsheet

'This Is Extortion': Even CNBC Has Turned on Democrats Over the Schumer Shutdown

Amy Curtis
Amy Curtis  |  October 29, 2025 1:45 PM

There's a very easy way to tell who is responsible for the Schumer Shutdown. Look at the media coverage.

Despite the Democratic Party's best attempt to pin the blame on Republicans, who — admittedly — control the House, Senate, and White House, we have a dearth of media sob stories about people suffering from the effects of the Schumer Shutdown. But the media has largely been mum on this, while everyone from air traffic controllers to our troops goes without paychecks and the Democrats dig in their heels.

CNN admitted yesterday that the Schumer Shutdown has helped Republicans. ABC News blamed Democrats for it, too. 

Now, CNBC is joining a growing list of people and groups putting pressure on the Democrats to reopen the government.

Host Joe Kernen asked, "Are you ready to vote with the Republicans to reopen the government at this point, as a reasonable Democrat? Maybe others would follow you."

Senator Peter Welch (D-VT) replied, "You know, I'm not there yet. Because we have had literally, Joe, no discussion whatsoever about how we're going to deal with the spikes in premiums."

Kernan cut Welch off, asking, "This is the right way to do it? By people not getting paychecks at the TSA? This is extortion! You think this...in your conscience, you think it's the right way to do it?"

Yes, it must be.

At least three prominent Democrats, including Rep. Katherine Clark (MA-05), as well as Senators Chris Coons (D-DE) and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), have made it very clear that Democrats want to use the suffering of Americans as political leverage.

As to Welch's concerns over the spike in Obamacare premiums, let us remind you that Democrats pushed Obamacare through on reconciliation in 2010 on the promise that it would save Americans $2,500 per year in insurance premiums. In the past 15 years, the opposite has happened. The cost of health insurance has skyrocketed while coverage has declined in quality. The taxpayer-funded premium subsidies have kept costs down for some people, but most have not been as lucky. During COVID, Democrats — again, on their own — pushed for increased premium subsidies and included a sunset date on those credits.

Now they're using their own legislation to browbeat Republicans into continuing the Obamacare subsidies because Obamacare failed. Of course, it failed by design because the ultimate goal is single-payer, universal socialized medicine.

Republicans are open to negotiating on those subsidies. They're not, however, negotiating on the trillions in new spending Democrats are demanding, including $1.5 trillion for illegal immigrant healthcare and a refunding of PBS/NPR and billions for "climate change" and LGBTQ initiatives in foreign nations.

Yesterday, the CR failed in the Senate for the 13th time by a vote of 54 to 45.