As Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer publicly battled Republicans over the government shutdown, he was privately cajoling a group of moderates not to fold before November.
Why it matters: Democrats are blaming Schumer (D-N.Y.) for not prolonging the shutdown. In reality, it could have been much shorter.
- Two weeks into the shutdown, a group of moderates told Schumer they were ready to vote to open the government, according to three sources familiar with the conversation.
- It's unclear if that group was big enough to end the shutdown. But Schumer persuaded the moderates to hold out until at least the beginning of November, when open enrollment for the Affordable Care Act began.
- In mid-October, he made it clear to his entire caucus that he was likely to come out against the emerging bipartisan deal that a group of moderate senators were pushing.
Zoom in: At the very beginning of the shutdown, Schumer was put on notice that a group of moderate Democrats didn't want to pick the government shutdown fight in the first place.
- "We let him know what we were doing," said Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), who led the bipartisan talks to find a compromise.
- Asked if she ever felt that Schumer was working against her compromise package, Shaheen declined to comment.
- "I don't really want to get into the private discussions we had," she told reporters Monday afternoon.
The bottom line: By Sunday afternoon, the Democratic moderates ultimately decided that the cost of continuing the shutdown exceeded the benefits.
- They extracted a promise from GOP leaders to hold a vote in December on extending the ACA tax credits.
- Internally, Schumer and most of his caucus argued that the concession wasn't enough.
- But eight senators who caucus with Democrats broke ranks, voting with Republicans to advance the deal that looks set to end the shutdown.
