New York
Ocasio-Cortez Lashes Out at Schumer Over His Support for G.O.P. Budget
Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the minority leader, is facing a torrent of criticism for choosing to vote with his Republican counterparts to head off a government shutdown.
Some of the sharpest barbs have come from another New York Democrat, Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
Ms. Ocasio-Cortez blasted Mr. Schumer’s efforts to gather enough Democratic support so Republicans can clear a procedural hurdle and pass a measure to fund the government through Sept. 30, accusing him of ceding the sliver of power Democrats had over President Trump.
“I believe that’s a tremendous mistake,” she said in a CNN interview on Thursday.
And she had specific criticism of the legislation itself. “This turns the federal government into a slush fund for Donald Trump and Elon Musk,” she said. “It sacrifices congressional authority, and it is deeply partisan.”
Her sharp remarks even stirred talk about whether she would consider challenging Mr. Schumer, 74, in a primary when he is up for re-election in 2028. Asked directly in the television interview if she would consider such a campaign, she sidestepped the question but did not shoot down the premise.
The House Democratic leadership — with yet another New York legislator at the top — quickly followed Ms. Ocasio-Cortez’s criticism, putting out a statement knocking Mr. Schumer’s caucus for going along with Republicans. All but one House Democrat voted Tuesday against the plan, which would slightly decrease spending overall.
“The far-right Republican funding bill will unleash havoc on everyday Americans, giving Donald Trump and Elon Musk even more power to continue dismantling the federal government,” Representative Hakeem Jeffries of New York, the top House Democrat, said in a joint statement with the rest of his leadership team.
“House Democrats will not be complicit,” they said.
Their anger, with Ms. Ocasio-Cortez out front, reflects a boiling over of resentments among some Democrats about the gerontocracy leading their party. The older generation led them astray last year during the presidential election, many younger Democrats say, and it is hurting them again as they try to stand up to Mr. Trump.
Angered House Democrats were already discussing primary challenges to Mr. Schumer, who was first elected in 1998.
“Schumer has been in politics for a long time, and I would hope that this is his final term, and he opens it up for someone new,” said State Senator Jabari Brisport of New York, an ideological ally of Ms. Ocasio-Cortez, who endorsed him when he first ran.
Mr. Brisport said that he did not know if Ms. Ocasio-Cortez aspired to higher office. But if she ran, he said, “she would make a fantastic senator.”
Mr. Schumer’s defenders note that it was easier for House Democrats to vote no — because the Republicans in their chamber had enough support to pass the legislation to keep the government open without Democratic help.
And, his defenders say, allowing the government to shut down would only make matters worse.
It “may feel good giving vent to our frustration,” Jay Jacobs, the New York Democratic Party chair, said in a statement. But it “will work against our long-term desire to win back the Congress in 2026 and the presidency in 2028.”
In television interviews, floor speeches and a New York Times opinion piece, Mr. Schumer defended his choice, saying that he hated the bill before him but that its passage was better than a shutdown.
“The risk of allowing the president to take even more power via a government shutdown is a much worse path,” Mr. Schumer wrote in The Times.
His efforts drew praise from perhaps an unwelcome source: the president himself.
“Congratulations to Chuck Schumer for doing the right thing — Took ‘guts’ and courage!” Mr. Trump said on social media.
New York
Video: New York City Nurses Go on Strike
new video loaded: New York City Nurses Go on Strike
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New York City Nurses Go on Strike
Nearly 15,000 nurses at major New York City hospitals went on strike on Monday, demanding more robust staffing levels, higher pay and better safety precautions.
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Chanting: “If we don’t get it — shut it down! “How can we as nurses be inside taking care of patients when we don’t have health care? We need to have good health care so we stay strong, so we can go in there day after day. Nursing is a 24/7 job. We don’t get a break. We’re there to take care of these patients, and that’s what we’re going to do. But we need the health care to do that.” “All parties must return immediately to the negotiating table and not leave. They must bargain in good faith.” “That’s right.” “And they must arrive at a deal that is satisfactory to all, that allows the nurses who work in this city to live in this city.”
By Meg Felling
January 12, 2026
New York
Video: Hochul and Mamdani Announce Plan for Universal Child Care
new video loaded: Hochul and Mamdani Announce Plan for Universal Child Care
transcript
transcript
Hochul and Mamdani Announce Plan for Universal Child Care
Gov. Kathy Hochul and Mayor Zohran Mamdani announced a plan on Thursday to vastly expand free and low-cost child care for families across the state in the coming years and add programs for 2-year-olds.
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“Today, we’re working together with the mayor at this incredible place to announce the first major steps to make child care universal — truly universal — here in New York City, transforming the lives of children and parents all across the state.” “We will build on the city’s existing three-K program, and say, no longer will a family in Flatbush be offered a seat, but have to find out that seat is in Astoria. We will add seats in the neighborhoods where demand has not been met. This will be felt by expanded subsidies for tens of thousands of additional families. It will be felt when parents look at their bank accounts at the end of the year, and see that they have saved more than $20,000 per child.” “And today, I’m proud to announce that New York State is paying the full cost to launch 2-care. For the first time — universal daycare for 2-year-olds, as proposed by Mayor Mamdani. We’re not just paying for one year of the program. We don’t usually go one year out in our budget, but just to let you know how serious we are, we’re taking the unprecedented step to not just commit for the 2027 budget, which I’m working on right now, but also the following year as well to show you we’re in this for the long haul.”
By Meg Felling
January 8, 2026
New York
Vote on the 17 Ways Mamdani Could Improve NYC
A new mayor, a fresh start — you know the drill. There are as many ideas out there for how Zohran Mamdani can now improve New York’s urban environment as there are New Yorkers.
I canvassed a few dozen planners, architects, academics, community leaders, neighborhood organizers, developers, housing and transit experts and former city government officials. I gave them no budgets or time lines. They gave me a mayoral to-do list of ideas big, small, familiar, deep in the weeds, fanciful and timely.
What follows is a small selection, with some kibitzing by me. You can vote “love it” or “skip it” below and help determine the ranking of priorities. Feel free to leave eye rolls and alternative proposals in the comments section.
Check back in the coming days to see how the ranking has changed and we will let you know the ultimate results on Jan. 13.
1
Create many thousands more affordable housing units by converting some of the city’s public golf courses into mixed income developments, with garden allotments and wetlands.
2
Deck over Robert Moses’s Cross Bronx Expressway and create a spectacular new park.
3
Devise a network of dedicated lanes for e-bikes and electric scooters so they will endanger fewer bicyclists and pedestrians.
4
Pedestrianize Lower Manhattan. Not even 10 percent of people there arrive by car.
5
Build more mental health crisis centers citywide.
6
Provide more clean, safe public pay toilets that don’t cost taxpayers $1 million apiece.
7
Convert more coastline into spongy marshes, akin to what exists at Hunter’s Point South Park in Queens, to mitigate rising seas and floods.
8
Dedicate more of the city budget to public libraries and parks, the lifeblood of many neighborhoods, crucial to public health and climate resilience. The city devotes barely 2 percent of its funds to them now.
9
Follow through on the Adams administration’s $400 million makeover of once-glamorous Fifth Avenue from Central Park South to Bryant Park, with wider sidewalks, reduced lanes of traffic, and more trees, restaurants, bikes and pedestrian-friendly stretches.
10
Do away with free street parking and enforce parking placard rules. New York’s curbside real estate is priceless public land, and only a small fraction of residents own cars.
11
Open the soaring vaults under the Brooklyn Bridge to create shops, restaurants, a farmers’ market and public library in nascent Gotham Park.
13
Persuade Google, JPMorgan or some other city-vested megacorporation to help improve the acoustics as well as Wi-Fi in subways, along the lines of Citibank sponsoring Citi Bikes.
14
Overhaul freight deliveries to get more 18-wheelers off city streets, free up traffic, reduce noise, improve public safety and streamline supply chains.
15
Rein in City Hall bureaucracy around new construction. The city’s Department of Design and Construction is full of good people but a longtime hot mess at completing public projects.
16
Convert more streets and intersections into public plazas and pocket parks. Like the pedestrianization of parts of Broadway, this Bloomberg-era initiative has proved to be good for businesses and neighborhoods.
17
Stop playing Russian roulette with a crumbling highway and repair the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway before it collapses.
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