The Checkup with Doctor Mike
The Truth About The Government Shutdown | Senator Chuck Schumer
19 Oct 2025
I'll teach you how to become the media's go-to expert in your field. Enroll in The Professional's Media Academy now: https://www.professionalsmediaacademy.com/00:00 Intro01:18 What Is A Shutdown?09:03 Proposed Cuts12:42 Republican Healthcare Plan16:40 Healthcare For Immigrants25:47 Calling Trump Now32:18 Nuclear Option, Epstein Files36:20 Israel, Deficit, Illegal Immigration46:08 Democratic Agreement47:58 A Message To TrumpHelp us continue the fight against medical misinformation and change the world through charity by becoming a Doctor Mike Resident on Patreon where every month I donate 100% of the proceeds to the charity, organization, or cause of your choice! Residents get access to bonus content, an exclusive discord community, and many other perks for just $10 a month. Become a Resident today: https://www.patreon.com/doctormikeLet’s connect:IG: https://go.doctormikemedia.com/instagram/DMinstagramTwitter: https://go.doctormikemedia.com/twitter/DMTwitterFB: https://go.doctormikemedia.com/facebook/DMFacebookTikTok: https://go.doctormikemedia.com/tiktok/DMTikTokReddit: https://go.doctormikemedia.com/reddit/DMRedditContact Email: [email protected] Producer: Doctor MikeProduction Director and Editor: Dan OwensManaging Editor and Producer: Sam BowersEditor and Designer: Caroline WeigumEditor: Juan Carlos Zuniga* Select photos/videos provided by Getty Images *** The information in this video is not intended nor implied to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. All content, including text, graphics, images, and information, contained in this video is for general information purposes only and does not replace a consultation with your own doctor/health professional **
Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
51,000 people will die at minimum if we don't change the law.
Chapter 2: What is a government shutdown and what does it mean?
We don't renew the ACA. When you talk to a mother and she says, my daughter has cancer and she's going to lose her treatment, my daughter's going to die. That's a moral imperative, not a political imperative, a moral imperative to do something about it.
I think the reason why our channel is successful is because we try and see people who disagree with us, their side of things.
Yes.
So what's your understanding as to why the Republican leadership is OK with making these cuts? What is their plan? In the past, I've said that my content is clinical, not political.
Chapter 3: What proposed cuts are being discussed in relation to healthcare?
And I realized that's inaccurate. In order to advocate for my patients, in order to advocate for good quality public health, we need to be political. The key is to not be partisan.
Chapter 4: How does the Republican healthcare plan affect citizens?
Currently, the United States is in the midst of a historic government shutdown. all centered around healthcare spending. So I invited Senator Chuck Schumer to a conversation where I challenge him on the truth about why the government is shut down, what impact it has on your life, and how your health premiums may skyrocket in the near future.
Please welcome Senator Chuck Schumer to the Checkup Podcast.
Chapter 5: What is the impact of healthcare cuts on immigrants?
Senator, thank you so much for joining me at a time where it seems the entire world wants to hear from you. Thanks for coming on the Checkup Podcast.
Mike, I couldn't think of a better place to be. And I know, you know, how strongly you have fought for health care things. We've had some successful battles together. There are EpiPens on airplanes, every airplane because of us. We have more doctor slots because we're so short of doctors, especially primary care. And we did those fights together. Yeah.
Chapter 6: What happened during the call with Trump regarding the shutdown?
And now I'm involved in another healthcare battle, a very important one.
Yeah, so for viewers that might be confused why we're having this conversation on the Checkup podcast, it is because healthcare has become the main reason for why the stalemate exists, why the government shutdown exists. And I want for us to have a conversation today that is not MSNBC, CNN, just transparent, honest about what's happening because people are frustrated, Senator. They're confused.
They don't know what a government shutdown is, why it's happening. So hopefully we can tackle some of that today.
Terrific.
Chapter 7: How does the nuclear option relate to the current political situation?
Love to.
Well, let's kick it off. The government is currently shut down, going into week three. What does a government shutdown even mean? Because when I ask my patients, my friends, my loved ones, they say it, they say, oh, some essential things are happening, but some are not, some are not getting paid. So what's happening?
So like a company, a government has a budget. Our budget expires September 30th, okay? And what has always happened in the past is that the Democrats and Republicans, because you need both in the Senate unless one side has 60 votes, which no side really gets.
A supermajority.
A supermajority, yeah. We sit down and negotiate. This time they didn't do that. The Republicans said, take it or leave it.
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Chapter 8: What is the Democratic agreement regarding the shutdown?
And we, the Democrats, we felt that what's happening in healthcare, that the healthcare crisis is upon us and Americans are going to, so many, tens of millions of Americans and families are going to feel such pain. But we said, we want to negotiate to address the healthcare crisis. So they said no. What's the consequence?
I'll get into all of the details as to why they said no, and most important, what we're fighting for. But what it means is that the government doesn't have money to spend. Essential services continue, and the people work. They don't get paid, but they get paid. Everyone who is furloughed, whether you're working or not, gets back pay at the end. So no one loses any money, but it's hard.
Of course, yeah. We hate the shutdown. That's why we want the Republicans to simply sit down and meet with us. So essential services, the military, law enforcement, air traffic control, they continue to work without pay. Some other people are furloughed, and they come back when the shutdown is over.
And then, what the Trump administration, they've done something no president has tried during the shutdowns, to fire people. But that's illegal. And they've been doing that all along. Shut down or not, they take agencies, and they illegally fire them.
In most instances, those who were fired in their groups, unions, or whatever, go to court and win, but they are using the shutdown as a pretext in that regard as well.
And when these specific essential workers that are not getting paid, they get back pay, how has President Trump funded some of their pay? Because he wanted to make sure some groups continued to get paid.
Right, so he funded the military, With $8 billion, he took research dollars out of the Defense Department and put it into pay. Now, that's probably not legal because Congress allocated the money in one place, and the Constitution says the president can't just unilaterally move it without Congress's okay. But he's been doing a lot of illegal acts to enforce what he wants.
Everyone wants the military to get paid, of course. We need them. They risk their lives for us. They're just great. But the way to do that, the real answer, is for the Republicans to end the shutdown by sitting down and talking to us. This is unprecedented. So are they not talking to you? Not at all. Listen to this.
So when we saw how they decimated health care in June in their so-called Big Beautiful Bill, which we call the Big Ugly Bill. And by the way, Donald Trump said, we better change the name because it's not very popular. They thought it would be more popular than it was.
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