Democrats, led by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), tried to claim victory at the end of the short-lived government shutdown, but no one was buying it. Schumer took to the floor of the Senate and to Twitter to claim that the Democrats agreeing to end the shutdown and re-open the government was because the Republicans had agreed to discuss the fate of the Dreamers, children of illegal immigrants, in February.
"We will vote today to reopen the government, to continue negotiating a global agreement, with the commitment that, if an agreement is not reached by Feb 8th, the Senate will immediately proceed to consideration of legislation dealing with DACA. The process will be neutral & fair," Schumer wrote on Twitter.
Except the Republicans had already agreed to deal with this issue next month, leading CNN's Political Director David Chalian to ask a pointed question on Twitter.
Can someone clearly state what exactly Chuck Schumer extracted from McConnell by shutting down the government?
— David Chalian (@DavidChalian) January 22, 2018
Chalian was not alone in pointing out that Schumer had caved. Kristen Gillibrand, the junior Senator from New York, blasted the move that her colleague Schumer had just made.
I am deeply disappointed that today’s outcome fails to protect Dreamers. They deserve better from the elected leaders of the only country many of them have ever called home.
— Kirsten Gillibrand (@SenGillibrand) January 22, 2018
Shaun King, a controversial leader of the Black Lives Matters group, also blasted Democrats for what he deemed a sellout of "Dreamers":
At the root of why so many Democrats could sell Dreamers out today is that they don't know them. They haven't spent quality time with them. They don't feel responsible for their futures.
— Shaun King (@ShaunKing) January 22, 2018
Bernie has a deep heart for these young men and women. https://t.co/pLr1aJTzdq
Looks like Democrats not only lost the air war when it comes to the shutdown, they lost their own activists.