Leader Schumer Floor Remarks Slamming Speaker Johnson & House Republicans For Running Away From Their Jobs & Launching Recess Early To Avoid The Epstein Scandal Ripping Apart Their Party - Dubbing It Johnson’s “Epstein Recess”

Washington, D.C. – Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) today spoke on the Senate floor on need for a bipartisan appropriations process, and how House Republicans are choosing to adjourn early rather than answer tough questions on Jeffrey Epstein. Below are Senator Schumer’s remarks, which can also be viewed here:

We have a little over 20 legislative days left for Republicans to get serious about funding the government.

That’s not very much time. And as always, the best way forward is this – bipartisan cooperation.

Senate Democrats, for our part, are working in good faith to counter the devastating actions of the Trump administration on the American people – and in this case, the bill reverses DOGE cuts to veterans. That’s a very good thing. These DOGE cuts were so cruel to our veterans.

Ultimately, Senate Republicans will have to join us to save all of our constituents from the proposals we have seen from the administration and from the House Republicans.

Now, yesterday, the Senate took the first vote on the MilCon-VA bill.

This bill is not perfect, but it’s a good step forward. It reverses some of the terrible cuts from DOGE against our veterans – our veterans who defend us, who risk their lives for us, who volunteer to serve their country. And then when they need help, DOGE says cut, cut, cut. It’s cruel, mean, un-American.

The Senate version, thank God, is significantly stronger than the House version in protecting our members.

And my colleague from Georgia has done good work shepherding this legislation on the Democratic side. We hope to have a good process for this bill on the floor – Republicans should allow amendments and a robust floor process.

This bill shows the process can still work, but much more needs to be considered. Senate Democrats know we can’t take anything for granted, and will expect our Republican colleagues to show their commitment to bipartisanship on all future appropriations bills. Because for weeks they have tainted the Senate with their partisan reconciliation tax bill and the rescissions package.

This process won’t work if they listen more to Donald Trump and Russell Vought than to the needs of the American people back home.

Now, meanwhile, yesterday was truly a sorry sight in the House of Representatives.

The ghost of the disgraced Jeffrey Epstein is haunting our Republican colleagues so much so that Speaker Johnson decided to cut bait and send the House home to escape discussions about Epstein, instead of doing their jobs like grown-ups and making progress on appropriations.

By shutting Congress down early, Speaker Johnson has assured that August has become the “Epstein Recess,” because this issue is going to grow and grow and grow the longer House Republicans dodge the issue.

Now, maybe they declared the “Epstein Recess” to give Trump time to prepare pardon papers for Ghislaine Maxwell.

Speaker Johnson shouldn’t be skedaddling out of town early.

If the Speaker thinks he can make the Epstein escapade disappear by sending folks home early, he’s got another thing coming.

So, again: the Speaker should not send people home early to avoid dealing with the Epstein issue.

The American people have a right to know what happened.

But instead, Speaker Johnson created an “Epstein Recess.”

It’s an awful decision and it’s derelict of their job in terms of keeping the government funded.

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