Vice President JD Vance unleashed a verbal barrage against Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer on Wednesday, attributing the government shutdown to Schumer’s agenda, which he claims prioritizes illegal aliens at the expense of American citizens.
The federal government officially ceased operations at midnight, a result of Senate Democrats leveraging their demands for $1.5 trillion aimed at providing free healthcare to undocumented immigrants and gender transition services for minors as a bargaining chip.
This decision comes despite a significant portion of the electorate—nearly half of all Democratic voters—expressing in a recent New York Times poll their discontent with the idea of leveraging a government shutdown to propel what they term a radical agenda.
In an interview with Newsmax’s Mike Carter, Vance discussed a tweet he had posted the previous day, which featured an archival clip of Chuck Schumer from the 1990s criticizing taxpayer-funded benefits for illegal immigrants, referring to it as “fraud in immigration.” Vance remarked, “Chuck Schumer once understood the pitfalls of incentivizing illegal behavior. Now, he’s willing to shut down the government unless we… reward illegal aliens for their lawbreaking.”
Chuck Schumer once recognized that it was disastrous to give illegal aliens rewards for breaking the law.
Now he wants to shut down the government unless we…reward illegal aliens for breaking the law. https://t.co/iFm9snfiQ9
— JD Vance (@JDVance) September 30, 2025
Vance articulated to Carter his belief that Democratic leadership is under the delusion that empathy equates to prioritizing illegal aliens over American citizens. He stated, “We hold that the government exists to serve the American people. This means those with the legal right to stay here, which is why we’re dedicated to reopening the government. Unfortunately, the Democrats are intent on closing it down for the sake of illegal aliens.”
WATCH:
Carter: You referenced a post regarding Chuck Schumer’s remarks in 1996 regarding illegal immigrants receiving taxpayer-funded benefits. You suggested that Schumer once deemed it disastrous to reward illegal aliens for breaking the law. Now, he appears to want to close the government unless we do just that. What explains Schumer’s shift?
Vance: That’s an astute question—quite a challenging one, actually. Delving into Chuck Schumer’s psyche isn’t the most appealing prospect. However, my interpretation is that the Democratic leadership—though not necessarily every Democrat across the nation—believes their only path to compassion lies in advocating for illegal aliens over American citizens. If we compare the rhetoric of past leaders like Bill Clinton and even Barack Obama from a decade or two ago, their positions on illegal immigration could easily be categorized as MAGA-Right by today’s standards. I don’t grasp why they veered so far leftward; it’s detrimental not just for the country but also politically for them. My focus is on conveying the priority of serving the American populace—the people who have the legal right to be here. This is our rationale for fighting to reopen the government, while Democrats seem intent on shutting it down to benefit illegal aliens.
Earlier in the briefing, Vance had already launched an attack on Schumer’s ideological flip-flop, asserting that Schumer is bending to the demands of far-left elements in his party, likely out of fear of a primary challenge from Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in the upcoming election.
WATCH:
Vance: Many Americans must be wondering: how did we reach this point? Why did the Democrats opt for a government shutdown, particularly after recently voting on identical legislation? There are numerous angles to consider, each holding truth. One key reason is their push to extend healthcare benefits to illegal aliens; the legislative text provided would have reversed cuts to these benefits. But the crux of the matter, let’s be candid about the political landscape, is that Chuck Schumer is petrified of a primary challenge from Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. This is why the people’s government is currently shut down—Schumer is capitulating to the radical left in his party because he dreads a primary challenge. Thus, I urge Chuck Schumer to align with moderate Democrats and the 52 Senate Republicans, do the honorable thing, reopen the people’s government, and let’s work on healthcare policy for all Americans.
