Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer predicted Americans will “rise up” if President Donald Trump defies courts that challenge his policies, saying he doesn’t trust Trump’s pledges to abide by judicial rulings.
Schumer was responding to a question on NBC’s Meet the Press about a previous comment that any such effort by Trump would require “extraordinary action” by Democrats.
If “the public is so, so angry and takes action — and certainly we Democrats will — it will trigger a mass movement from one end of the country to the other, something that we haven’t seen in a very long time,” Schumer said.
Trump’s push to test the limits of executive power has played out in a clash with a US district judge over the deportation flights of alleged Venezuelan gang members who ended up in a prison in El Salvador.
The judge, James Boasberg, admonished the administration for disregarding his order on March 15 to halt the deportation flights. Trump has dubbed Boasberg a “radical left” judge and called for his impeachment, prompting a rebuke by Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts.
Schumer struck a defiant tone toward his own party when asked about his decision to end a blockade by Senate Democrats against a Republican spending plan to avert a government shutdown.
“Look, I’m not stepping down,” said Schumer, whose stance prompted a backlash among some Democrats. Those questioning his decision include former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
Read more: Schumer Leads a Party in Conflict After Retreat on Shutdown
A shutdown “would be 15 or 20 times worse” by handing the Trump administration an opportunity to “eviscerate” the government, he said.
Schumer argued that Democrats shouldn’t allow themselves to be split over disagreements about how to deal with the short-term spending bill, known as a continuing resolution.
“Our goal, our plan, which we’re united on, is to make Donald Trump the quickest lame duck in modern history by showing how bad his policies are,” Schumer said.