Schumer Cut Out of Shutdown Deal

Punchbowl News: “As senators struggled to find a way out of the devastating shutdown, missing from the final round of negotiations was one of the most important players: Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer.”

“Instead, it was retiring Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) — among the most vocal Democratic supporters of the expiring Obamacare subsidies — who sat face-to-face with Senate Majority Leader John Thune to button up a key piece of the final deal: A commitment to vote on extending the subsidies.”

“It was extraordinary for Schumer not to be involved. Yet Thune had declared repeatedly that the path out of the shutdown wouldn’t be through Schumer, but rather rank-and-file Democrats. He turned out to be right.”