Chuck Schumer's union allies delivered him a direct order.
He told them to get lost.
And Chuck Schumer just defied his biggest ally with one vote that left jaws on the floor.
Schumer ignores union demand and blocks clean bill again
The American Federation of Government Employees dropped a bombshell Monday that should have changed everything.
AFGE President Everett Kelley issued a direct call for Congress to "pass a clean continuing resolution and end this shutdown today."¹
The union represents more than 800,000 federal and Washington, D.C., workers – making it the largest federal employee union in the country.²
AFGE has been one of the Democrat Party's most reliable political allies for decades.
"Both political parties have made their point, and still there is no clear end in sight," Kelley wrote.¹ "No half measures, and no gamesmanship. Put every single federal worker back on the job with full back pay — today."¹
Republicans immediately seized on the statement.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune quoted Kelley at a press conference and called for Democrats to support the Republican stopgap measure to reopen the government through November 21.³
Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin admitted Monday night the AFGE statement would have "a lot of impact" because "they've been our friends, and we've worked with them over the years."³
But when Tuesday's vote came, Schumer and Senate Democrats told their union allies to pound sand.
The Senate voted to advance the Republican clean continuing resolution for the 13th time.⁴
And for the 13th time, Democrats blocked it.⁴
The measure failed 54-45, needing 60 votes to advance.⁴
Only two Democrats – Senators John Fetterman of Pennsylvania and Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada – along with independent Senator Angus King of Maine broke ranks.⁴
Every other Democrat voted against the clean bill their own union partners were begging them to pass.
Democrats divide their own base
Schumer's explanation for defying the union was breathtaking.
He told reporters he informed Kelley that Congress needs to both ensure federal workers get paid and negotiate on health care.⁵
In other words, the Democrat Party just sold one of their largest constituencies down the river in order to demand taxpayers foot the bill to expand Obamacare subsidies for illegal immigrants
"We can provide all the help — provide pay and furlough and back pay for federal workers — and fix the health care crisis," Schumer said.⁵
Translation: Democrats are holding federal worker paychecks hostage until they get what they want.
The sticking point is enhanced Affordable Care Act premium tax credits that Democrats passed during the Biden administration in 2021.⁶
Those subsidies extend Obamacare to illegal immigrants in many states.
They expire December 31, and Democrats claim Americans could see health insurance premiums spike if the credits aren't extended.⁷
Cutting illegal aliens out from taxpayer subsidies is a start but Obamacare was always meant to fail. That’s how Barack Obama and the Democrats, and RINO turncoats, designed it.
Republicans say there's plenty of time to negotiate health care issues after reopening the government.
But Democrats refuse to separate the two issues.
Senator Tina Smith of Minnesota admitted she understood where the union was coming from but wouldn't budge anyway.
"I get where they're coming from. We want the shutdown to end too," Smith said. "But fundamentally, if Trump and Republicans continue to refuse to negotiate with us to figure out how to lower health care costs, we're in the same place that we've always been."⁹
Senator Ruben Gallego of Arizona went on a profanity-laced tirade against Republicans while ignoring that his own union allies were begging Democrats to pass the clean bill.
"Republicans fired arbitrarily, thousands, tens of thousands of employees at the beginning of the year, cut them off from health insurance, didn't give any type of severance, and now they're turning around saying, 'Oh my god, we're here to fight for the government employees.' Like, bulls***," Gallego said.⁸
None of that explains why Democrats just voted against what their union partners explicitly asked them to do.
Democrats gambling with workers' lives for political leverage
The consequences of Schumer's defiance are brutal for the federal workers AFGE represents.
They've now missed their first full paycheck since the shutdown began October 1.¹⁰
The shutdown has furloughed at least 670,000 federal employees, and 730,000 others continue to work without pay.¹¹
Democrats are betting they can hold out long enough to force Republicans to cave on health care negotiations.
But the situation is about to explode.
The Department of Agriculture just announced that Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits will not be issued November 1 due to the shutdown.¹²
That puts 42 million low-income Americans at risk of losing critical food assistance.¹²
Democrats think the looming SNAP crisis combined with rising health care premiums during open enrollment starting November 1 will break Republicans.
Kelley's AFGE statement was a warning shot that federal workers can't afford to wait for Democrats' political games to play out.
His call was specific and direct: pass a clean continuing resolution "that allows continued debate on larger issues."¹⁴
Reopen the government first, then fight about health care.
But Schumer decided Obamacare subsidies matter more than the immediate needs of 800,000 federal workers standing in food bank lines.
Senator Tim Kaine of Virginia tried spinning the vote by claiming AFGE members wouldn't want Democrats to pass the bill if Trump might "fire a bunch of people next week."¹³
That excuse doesn't pass the laugh test.
The AFGE explicitly called for Congress to pass the Republican continuing resolution and reopen the government immediately.
Schumer and Senate Democrats just told their most loyal union allies to take a hike.
Federal workers got the message loud and clear about where they rank in Democrat priorities.
¹ Everett Kelley, "It's Past Time to End This Shutdown," American Federation of Government Employees, October 27, 2025.
² Emily Brooks and Sudiksha Kochi, "Democrats vote against 'clean' GOP bill to end shutdown despite union pressure," The Hill, October 28, 2025.
³ Ibid.
⁴ Ibid.
⁵ Ibid.
⁶ "Government shutdown: The ACA, immigrants and health care," CNBC, September 30, 2025.
⁷ "Behind the shutdown was a fight over ACA health care premiums," NPR, October 2, 2025.
⁸ Brooks and Kochi, "Democrats vote against 'clean' GOP bill."
⁹ Ibid.
¹⁰ "The federal government is still shut down. Here's what that means in your community," NPR, October 28, 2025.
¹¹ Zeeshan Aleem, "A federal workers' union just ratcheted up the government shutdown pressure on Dems," MSNBC, October 28, 2025.
¹² "USDA says SNAP benefits won't be issued on Nov. 1," ABC News, October 27, 2025.
¹³ "Democrats not swayed by call to end shutdown from largest federal workers' union," CNN Politics, October 28, 2025.
¹⁴ Kelley, "It's Past Time to End This Shutdown."
