How Schumer is preparing for the fall funding showdown

Chuck Schumer is quietly turning his caucus toward a critical decision on how to handle a fall funding showdown, after he and Senate Democrats faced blistering criticism from the party’s base earlier this year.

As the chamber is set to vote Tuesday to tee up the first tranche of government funding bills, the Senate minority leader is holding discussions with his colleagues about what their strategy should be ahead of the Sept. 30 shutdown deadline.

Democrats are having behind-the-scenes conversations on this topic, including during a more than hour-long meeting last week. Schumer is expected to have more member-level discussions about the September roadmap over the next two weeks, and has been in close touch with Democrats on the Appropriations Committee. He is also meeting with House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries on Tuesday to discuss funding endgame strategy, said three people granted anonymity to speak candidly.

Those private discussions come as Schumer has stopped short of threatening a shutdown publicly — even as he warns Republicans against pursuing GOP-only spending tactics.