“Basically anybody that’s up in 2020, Schumer doesn’t want to move on legislation sponsored by them,” Ernst said. She also cited her “presidential perks” bill, which would limit government funded benefits for former presidents and has passed the House, as another example.

Schumer has called the GOP Senate a "legislative graveyard" and bristled at the charge that he was the one slowing things down. He said Ernst's version of the bill shows she "is simply afraid of the NRA."

"Ask Sen. Ernst if she believes a boyfriend of a woman who has gotten a protection order issued against him should get a gun? Sen. Ernst evidently believes yes, because in the bill she’s putting forward it doesn’t have that provision even if it did in the House," Schumer said. He advised that Ernst should push Majority Leader Mitch McConnell "to bring the House-passed bill on the floor and we’ll debate it. And we can debate her amendment, which the gun lobby wants but almost no other American wants."

The spat came as Ernst prepares to introduce her version of the Violence Against Women Act, after bipartisan discussions with Senate Judiciary ranking member Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) to reauthorize the law have fallen apart.

Last week, Feinstein introduced a proposal similar to the bill that was passed by the House in April.

Schumer and other Democrats have blamed Republican leadership for not bringing the House-passed version forward.

The House version of the bill, which passed with limited support from Republicans, broadened the domestic violence law by adding language to ensure that people convicted of dating violence or stalking cannot obtain a firearm.

Among the areas of disagreement between Feinstein and Ernst are issues related to tribal criminal jurisdiction, the Iowa Republican said.

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Ernst said Tuesday that she would even be willing to take her name off the bill if Schumer would allow it to move forward.

“If Chuck Schumer would say ‘if Joni takes her name off of it and it’ll move, yeah I’d take my name off of it and let’s move it,” Ernst said.

Ernst’s bill, which is set to be introduced this week, would reauthorize grant programs related to domestic violence and recognize sex trafficking as a form of sexual assault, among other measures.

After blasting Ernst's bill, Schumer began considering a separate question from a reporter on Tuesday afternoon before thinking of one last barb for his GOP rival.

“By the way, she just introduced it today. So she’s a bit, no pun intended, jumping the gun," Schumer said.

