Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said Sunday that Democrats might make their support for the next spending bill contingent on legislation protecting special counsel Robert Mueller.
In an interview on CNN’s “State of the Union,” the New York Democrat stopped short of saying he’d be willing to risk a government shutdown in the matter.
"The appointment of Mr. Whitaker should concern every American –Democrat, Republican, liberal, conservative – who believes in rule of law and justice," Schumer said. "He has already prejudged the Mueller situation. If he stays there, he will create a constitutional crisis by inhibiting Mueller or firing Mueller, so Congress has to act."
Schumer cited Whitaker's previous comments that were critical of the Russia probe, and noted a letter Democratic leaders in the House and Senate sent to the chief ethics officer of the Justice Department asking for an opinion on whether Whitaker should recuse himself from the investigation.
If Whitaker doesn’t recuse, Schumer said congressional Democrats will "attempt to add to must-pass legislation, in this case the spending bill, legislation that would prevent Mr. Whitaker from interfering with the Mueller investigation."
"Look, I believe there will be enough of our Republican colleagues who will join us. There's no reason we shouldn't add this and avoid a constitutional crisis," Schumer added, saying if GOP support fails to materialize, however, “We'll see what happens down the road.”
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