WASHINGTON — Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., the minority leader, on Monday postponed a multicity tour to promote his forthcoming book, citing security concerns amid backlash to his decision to vote with Republicans for a stopgap spending bill to stave off a government shutdown.

Schumer was scheduled to participate in promotional events in Atlanta, Washington, Baltimore, Philadelphia and New York, as well as a few stops in California, for his new book, “Antisemitism in America: A Warning.” Many Democratic activists, desperate for their leaders to stand up to President Donald Trump, have been staging protests outside of Schumer’s home in the Brooklyn borough of New York City and calling for his resignation. Online, they have been organizing protests for every stop on his book tour.

A spokesperson for Schumer said the tour was being rescheduled because of “security concerns.” But the move was immediately criticized by both the right and the left, who accused Schumer of being unwilling to face a restive public.

“We hope other Democratic senators continue meeting with their constituents and demand that their leadership fight with backbone,” Adam Green, the co-founder of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee. said in a statement.

Schumer Defending His to Decision

Since voting Friday for the stopgap bill, Schumer has been defending his decision to stave off a government shutdown, which he has said was the less devastating of two bad options that Senate Democrats were presented with. “I’ll take some of the bullets,” Schumer said of the vitriol directed at him.

“There is no off-ramp,” for a government shutdown, Schumer said in an interview Friday from his office just off the Senate floor. “The off-ramp is in the hands of Donald Trump and Elon Musk and DOGE. We could be in a shutdown for six months or nine months,” he said, referring to Musk’s cost-cutting team, the Department of Government Efficiency.

Schumer said a shutdown would have allowed Trump to decide which programs were essential, and which were not. “The day after the shutdown, they can say all of SNAP is not essential, we’re not funding it,” Schumer said, referring to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. “In a shutdown, it is solely the executive branch that determines what is essential and what is nonessential. There is no court check.”

Still, the backlash has been unrelenting.

Over the weekend, Schumer met with Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., the minority leader, in Brooklyn. The meeting was first reported by Punchbowl News. Jeffries and House Democrats, who stuck together to oppose the government funding bill in the House, have criticized Schumer’s decision. Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called Schumer’s decision “unacceptable.” And although Jeffries has not criticized Schumer, he has stopped short of endorsing his leadership since the vote.

On Friday, asked at a news conference whether it was time for new leadership in the Senate, Jeffries responded curtly.

“Next question,” he said.

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This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

By Annie Karni/Haiyun Jian
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