Schumer postpones book tour amid progressive revolt over shutdown vote as senator blames security concerns

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer is scrapping book tour events this week as progressives fume over his maneuver to avert a partial government shutdown last week, a source told The Post.The source said Schumer is blaming “security concerns.”Schumer (D-NY), 74, had scheduled events touting his forthcoming tome “Antisemitism in America: A Warning” in Baltimore, Washington, DC, Philadelphia and New York City this week while the Senate was in recess.“Senator Schumer’s book tour events during the week of March 17 are being postponed for security reasons.We will work to reschedule this event at a later date,” webpages promoting the scrapped events this week noted.Disgruntled progressive activists were widely expected to crash his events to protest his decision to vote against blocking a GOP bill to keep the government’s lights on.A cacophony of progressive stars such as Emma Vigeland of “Majority Report” called on their followers to protest Schumer’s appearances.

Multiple demonstrations against Schumer had been planned for his first stop in Baltimore Monday, including from the liberal Sunrise Movement.“Chuck Schumer is afraid to face the people he betrayed last week.Another act of cowardice.

We need new leadership,” the Sunrise Movement, an activist group that focuses on combating climate change, said.Many Democrats in Congress saw last week’s government shutdown fight as rare leverage to extract concessions from Republicans on a host of President Trump’s actions including slashing the federal government.All but one House Democrat voted against the Republican-drafted stopgap measure to keep the government funded through September.Given the Senate filibuster, which requires a 60-vote threshold to overcome, Democrats had a chance to block the bill in the upper chamber.

But having lived through multiple government shutdowns in his two-and-a-half decade Senate career and nearly two decades in the House, Schumer felt the Democrats weren’t ...