Politics
Chuck Schumer postpones book tour amid liberal criticism over spending vote
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer is postponing several planned events this week to promote his new book, “ Antisemitism in America: A Warning,” after some liberal groups had planned to stage protests.
The cancellations of events in Baltimore, Washington, D.C. and other cities came amid widespread criticism from the party’s liberal base over Schumer’s vote to move forward with Republican spending legislation last week. Risa Heller, a representative for Schumer’s book, said that the tour would be rescheduled “due to security concerns.”
Schumer said the spending bill was “terrible” but that a shutdown would have been far worse, and difficult to end, as President Donald Trump has already slashed jobs and funding for agencies across the government. A shutdown would have given Trump even more power to make cuts, Schumer said, “and so many programs would be lost.”
House Democrats strongly disagreed with Schumer’s decision and criticized him directly: “We will not be complicit,” Democratic leaders said in a joint statement.
The public rift among Democrats, and the onslaught of criticism toward Schumer, came after years of relative unity during Trump’s first term and during President Joe Biden’s time in the White House. It’s a reflection of how Democrats have become increasingly frustrated with their inability to stop Trump’s Cabinet confirmations and mass firings of federal workers.
At a news conference on Friday, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries repeatedly refused to say whether he has confidence in Schumer — a rare break for the two longtime New York colleagues.
Schumer and Jeffries met in Brooklyn on Sunday, according to two people familiar with the meeting. But the discontent with Schumer went far beyond House leadership, and some of the nation’s most influential progressive groups warned of serious political consequences.
Ezra Levin, co-founder of Indivisible, wrote on social media last week that Democratic activists planned to express their anger at town halls or other public events. MoveOn, another progressive group that claims nearly 10 million members nationwide, predicted that its activists would also demand answers from Democratic officials.
“Clearing the way for Donald Trump and Elon Musk to gut Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid is unacceptable. It’s past time for Democrats to fight and stop acting like it’s business as usual,” said Joel Payne, a spokesperson for MoveOn.
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Republished with permission of The Associated Press.
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Florida’s jobless rate increased for the first time in about a half year to start 2025.
FloridaCommerce released the January figures showing that the unemployment rate came in at 3.5%. That’s the first increase in about a half year.
The rate held steady at 3.4% for the back half of 2024. Prior to that, the rate remained at 3.3% for most of early last year.
There were 390,000 people out of work in January in Florida out of a total labor force of 11,188,000 people in the state. That total labor force figure is the highest number Florida has ever seen.
“Florida continues to prove that leadership and conservative fiscal policies drive success,” said Gov. Ron DeSantis. “We will keep the momentum going by insisting on reducing government spending, continuing to eliminate bureaucracy, and finding more tax reductions for Floridians.”
While Florida’s jobless rate increased in January, it still remains lower than the national rate, which is 4%. The Sunshine State has maintained a lower jobless figure than the national number for 51 straight months.
Miami-Dade County had the lowest unemployment rate in the state for January at 2.4%, slightly down from December’s 2.5%. But compared to a year ago, January’s unemployment rate saw a 0.5-percentage-point increase from last year.
Sumter County had the highest unemployment rate in the state in January at 6.9%.
Among major metropolitan areas in Florida, Fort Myers and Pensacola shared the dubious distinction of having 4% unemployment rates in January, the highest among large metro areas. Both were increases month-to-month and compared to January 2024.
Jacksonville and Tampa each had a 3.8% unemployment rate in January. Both were increases from a year ago, and each had an increase from the December unemployment rate.
Palm Beach County registered a 3.7% jobless figure in January. That figure was also up for the month and the year-over-year comparison.
The Orlando area also had an increase in the jobless figure, coming in at 3.6%. As was the same with other major metro areas, that figure was an increase for the month and the year.
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