In Dear Colleague Letter To Senate Democrats, Leader Schumer Warns Senate Dems To Brace for Trump-GOP Rescission Fight: “This Is Beyond A Bait-and-Switch, It’s Bait And Poison To Kill”
Washington, D.C. – Today, Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer sent the following letter to Senate Democrats following the passage of the “Big, Ugly Betrayal,” which will gut food assistance, slash healthcare, and kill millions of jobs. Leader Schumer also warns Senate Democrats to brace for upcoming rescission fight – laying out the rescission package’s massive implications for Congress, the role of the legislative branch, and the country.
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July 8, 2025
Dear Colleague:
I hope you all enjoyed your Fourth of July. The holiday is always a powerful reminder of the promise of America – and our shared duty to protect and fulfill it. Especially now, when that promise seems more under threat than ever.
Unfortunately, for many Americans – including myself and, I’m sure, many of you – this holiday was darkened by the passage of the Republicans’ “One Big Ugly Betrayal.” The facts are clear: this law will wreak havoc on our country and hurt American families across the nation. Millions will lose health care, millions more will see their premiums skyrocket, utility bills will rise, hungry children will lose access to food aid, millions of Americans will lose good-paying jobs in the energy and health care economy, and middle class Americans and future generations will pay more -- on mortgages, small business loans, and credit cards – because of the crushing and historic debt Republicans have dumped on their shoulders.
That’s why not a single Democrat voted for this monstrosity in either the House or the Senate. The Republicans’ rushed, reckless, and rammed through process resulted in a bill written not with the input of the American people, but with billionaires, corporations, and the marching orders of President Trump – and the final product was worse for it. To be certain, we, Senate Democrats, support real middle-class tax relief; we support getting rid of wasteful, unnecessary, and inefficient red tape and bureaucracy; we support ridding our federal programs of waste, fraud and abuse; we support commonsense border investments and we support investing in our nation’s future. Yet, Congressional Republicans – at the behest and command of an imperial president – surrendered the policy making process to President Trump, rejected offers of bipartisan cooperation and plowed ahead with a partisan legislative train-wreck; a bill that somehow managed to get worse with each turn of the crank towards its ultimate passage, making it as cynical as it is cruel.
There are many Republicans who know better. They know this bill is bad policy and a political albatross that will hurt their constituents, devastate the country, and haunt their careers. Yet, they went along with it anyway, bowing to pressure, blind fealty and threats of retribution.
They could have worked to author and pass true middle-class tax relief that protected Medicaid, Medicare and SNAP and did not explode the debt by asking the wealthy to pay their fair share – instead, they passed the largest health care cut in history, exploded the deficit, and showered giveaways on the nation’s wealthiest few. Why? Because Donald Trump told them to.
As we enter the July work period, Republicans will soon confront the decision as to whether they continue down this dangerous partisan path: Will they work across the aisle with Democrats to responsibly fund the government or will they bend to the pressure from President Trump and the hard-right to once again go it alone? How they answer this question has grave implications for the Congress, the legislative branch’s role, and, more importantly, for our country.
At the behest of Donald Trump, Senate Republican leadership is set to bring to the floor this work period a toxic proposal to hollow-out bipartisan investments in public broadcasting and critical foreign aid programs. Passed by the House earlier this summer, this so-called rescission package is eligible for fast-track consideration in the Senate and can pass with a simple majority vote.
Republicans’ passage of this purely partisan proposal would be an affront to the bipartisan appropriations process. That’s why a number of Senate Republicans know it is absurd for them to expect Democrats to act as business as usual and engage in a bipartisan appropriations process to fund the government, while they concurrently plot to pass a purely partisan rescissions bill to defund those same programs negotiated on a bipartisan basis behind the scenes. What’s more, the Trump administration has reportedly promised additional rescission packages as a way to short circuit bipartisanship and attack programs the hard-right has long wanted to gut – knowing full-well Trump’s long-term plan is to use this process to implement much of DOGE’s reckless cuts. This is beyond a bait and switch – it is a bait and poison-to-kill. Senate Republicans must reject this partisan path and instead work with Democrats on a bipartisan appropriations process.
Republicans are, in effect, proposing Congress negotiate bipartisan deals in the Committee room, while they retreat to a backroom to rubberstamp President Trump’s purely partisan scheme that only needs a simple majority to pass to tear up those very same agreements. While the exact details are not yet clear, reports suggest OMB Director Russell Vought – and perhaps President Trump himself – promised a hard-right faction in the House numerous illegal actions to defund key programs in an effort to secure their votes for the “One Big, Ugly Bill.” If true, the pattern is as clear as it is concerning: Trump and Congressional Republicans plan to go it alone – and they are willing to break the law to do it.
Republicans may control the White House, the Senate, and the House, but they would be wise to remember that the American people are watching. Across the country, voters of all political stripes are increasingly unhappy with the direction of this Congress and the Trump presidency. Ripping away health care is not popular or sound policy. Denying food support to a prosperous nation’s children is not popular or sound policy. Exploding the nation’s debt to give billionaires yet another massive tax cut is not popular or sound policy. Shutting down rural radio stations, closing Social Security offices and rural hospitals, slashing critical jobs in disaster readiness, gutting lifesaving research and aviation safety is not popular and sound policy. Yet, Republicans are doing it anyway – all to please an out-of-control president unmoored from principle or prudence.
So, Senate Republicans face a defining choice with consequences that will be felt far beyond the halls of power. They can continue to cower before Donald Trump, governing by fear and fiat. If they do, though, the blame will be theirs to own, the damage and the cost would be American families’ to bear. Or they can summon the courage to break from Trump’s grip, reject this reckless partisanship, and work with Democrats to build a government worthy of the people we serve. The stakes could not be higher—for the Congress, for our democracy, and for the American people.
I will repeat: how Republicans answer this question on rescissions and other forthcoming issues will have grave implications for the Congress, the very role of the legislative branch, and, more importantly, our country.
Sincerely,
Charles E. Schumer
United States Senator
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