WASHINGTON—Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) has postponed a tour promoting his book on anti-Semitism for security reasons.
The Democratic leader has been at the center of criticism from the party’s base over his support of a Republican funding bill to prevent a government shutdown last week.
Events in Baltimore and Washington are being rescheduled because of “ security concerns,” public relations firm Risa Heller, which is representing Schumer, told The Associated Press.
There were protests planned regarding the tour, including one in Baltimore by pro-Palestinian group Jewish Voice for Peace.
Another one, planned by climate activist group Sunrise Movement, was in response to Schumer’s support for the advance of the government funding bill.
The funding bill, a continuing resolution that was passed by the Senate on March 14, will fund the government through Sept. 30. Schumer did not vote for the bill itself, but he drew criticism from fellow Democrats for allowing the House GOP measure to overcome the 60-vote filibuster threshold in the Senate that applies to most legislation.
If the government shuts down, Schumer said, “communities that depend on government services to function will suffer and suffer greatly.”
“As bad as a [continuing resolution] is, allowing Donald Trump to take more, even much more, power through a government shutdown is an even worse option,” he said.
The legislation increased defense spending by about $6 billion and cut nondefense spending by about $13 billion.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) told reporters that what Schumer did was “a huge slap in the face,” citing “a wide sense of betrayal.”
Without naming Schumer, Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said in a statement that “America has experienced a Trump shutdown before—but this damaging legislation only makes matters worse.”
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), during a March 14 press conference, dodged questions about whether he had confidence in his Senate counterpart. Asked whether it was time for new leadership in the Senate, Jeffries responded: “Next question.”
On March 17, Jeffries said that although he and Schumer disagreed on the approach to handling the Republican spending bill, the two agreed on most other issues.
“Chuck and I agree on the overwhelming majority of issues moving forward, including our effort to oppose the largest potential Medicaid cut in American history. And we’re all going to have to come together,” Jeffries said in an MSNBC interview.
According to the description of Schumer’s book, “Antisemitism in America: A Warning,” it “takes readers on a personal journey of how Jewish Americans like him have come to understand their history, their place in America—and why they worry about the future of Jewish life in America.”
As the first Jewish majority leader of the United States Senate, Schumer has introduced himself as “the highest-ranking Jewish elected official in America ever.” He has been in Congress since 1981 and has served in the Senate since 1999.
