CNN’s Scott Jennings could be seen gloating Sunday on “State of the Union” over Senate Democratic Minority Leader Chuck Schumer joining Senate Republicans in voting in favor of the GOP-backed spending bill, sarcastically stating that Schumer showed “courage” standing up to the “racist Jim Crow filibuster tactics.”
Senate lawmakers on Friday voted 62 to 38 to advance the House Republicans’ spending bill in order to avoid a government shutdown, which would have set in early Saturday morning. In response to the backlash Schumer received for backing the spending bill, Jennings applauded the decision in light of some members of his party previously calling for the elimination of what they have dubbed the “Jim Crow” filibuster.
“I’m grateful for Chuck Schumer today. He helped defeat a racist Jim Crow filibuster in the Senate. To stand up against the racist Jim Crow filibuster tactics was a moment of pure courage. I just think he should be lauded by anybody in any party for that. That’s number one. Number two —” Jennings said before being cut off.
Lawmakers had avoided a filibuster, which is typically used as a tactic by the minority party, Friday evening, thanks to nine Democrats joining Schumer and surpassing the 60 votes needed to pass the bill. During the Biden-Harris administration, Democrats pushed to scrap the filibuster in 2022, but former Independent Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema and former Democrat West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin halted the efforts.
“It’s a deep cut. Let me just explain to people at home,” Tapper jumped in. “When there was a Democratic push against the filibuster, people in the Democratic Party were saying it was a racist-era Jim Crow-era tactic, the filibuster. So [Jennings is] being cheeky.”
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“Not only that, but he saved us from the Democrats in the House, laying off every single veteran in the federal government. Chuck Schumer, working with Donald Trump, saved us from that. So I think he deserves a lot of credit this morning,” Jennings continued. “Every veteran would have been laid off!”
Following the vote and the Democrats’ outcry over the use of the filibuster, Sinema took to X to call out Democrats who once compared the tactic to state slave laws.
In response to Democratic Washington Rep. Pramila Jayapal’s comment that Senate Democrats shouldn’t “betray working families,” Sinema wrote, “Just surprised to see support for the ‘Jim Crow filibuster’ here.” The former lawmaker’s post included a screenshot of a post Jayapal made in September 2024, calling to abolish the “Jim Crow filibuster.”
Republican strategist Brad Todd then jumped in, stating that not only was Jennings having “fun” with Democrats flip-flopping, but also highlighting how the party could “crash the ship” if they don’t listen to voters who say the party has become “too extreme.”
“Scott’s having a lot of fun at the Democrats’ disarray. I’ll tell you what. As Republicans this week, we have overdosed on popcorn watching this Democrat Civil War,” Todd said.
“But if you look at the CNN poll out this morning, I think the big number to look at, 16% of Democrats, that’s one in six, say their party’s too extreme,” Todd added. “That’s the voice Democrats should be listening to and the one Hakeem Jeffries should be listening to right now. The far left is going to crash the ship if they let him.”
Prior to the vote passing through the Senate, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries released a statement opposing the “far-right Republican funding bill,” stating that House Democrats were ready to vote for a “four-week continuing resolution” instead. Jeffries notably avoided a reporter’s question about whether it is “time for new leadership in the Senate” on Friday after Schumer received backlash for his decision to back the spending bill.
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