Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) is taking heat from the far left of his party to step aside after the record-breaking government shutdown looked set to end with nothing to show for it.
The fumbled finish to the 41-day shutdown has Democrats bashing each other, with one senator, Angus King (I-Maine), admitting, “Standing up to Trump didn’t work.”
Much of the fury is aimed at the upper chamber’s minority leader, 74, who claimed he opposed the capitulation deal, but whose No. 2, Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), was one of eight senators to join Republicans on a plan to end the impasse that has grounded flights, furloughed federal workers, and put food stamps for hungry families on hold.
“Schumer — for better or worse — is the living embodiment of the phrase ‘Damned if you do, damned if you don’t,’” one House Dem aide observed to The Post.
New York state Sen. James Skoufis (D-Orange) put it more bluntly: “My 4-year-old daughter negotiates better deals on the playground than what we saw this week.”
The firestorm is part of broader Democratic Party infighting, as the Democratic socialist-charged wing of the party wants to see its pols deploy scorched-earth tactics.
And the knives were already out for Schumer specifically, and the shutdown offered an opening to air grievances about calls for generational change in the party.
“Every politician needs to realize their sell-by date. Schumer played an instrumental role in passing Chips, IRA [Inflation Reduction Act] and Infrastructure,” Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) told The Post.
“But his support for the Iraq War, for unconditional military aid to [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu and his caving on both shutdown fights make it painfully obvious he is not the leader for the Democratic Party today. He should gracefully step aside from leadership like [House Speaker emerita Nancy] Pelosi did and serve out the remainder of his term with dignity.”
Schumer, however, retained public support from his colleagues in the upper chamber.
“None of these people are senators or know the details of what happened in the Senate this week,” a Schumer spokesman told The Post of the calls for him to step aside. “Sen. Schumer has led the fight on the health care crisis, and will continue to do so.”
Schumer voted against advancing the bipartisan package to end the longest government shutdown in US history, but endured the brunt of the base’s wrath for failing to keep his caucus from holding out longer, especially after last week’s election wins in New Jersey, Virginia, and New York City galvanized the progressive base.
Despite no plan to extend the pandemic-era Obamacare subsidies that are slated to expire this year — the key objective of Dems’ shutdown fight — Schumer said the party brought health care to the forefront.
“The American people have now awoken to Trump’s health care crisis,” Schumer said Monday on the Senate floor. “Health care is once again at the forefront of people’s minds. People now see that premiums are about to skyrocket. They’re terrified about how they’re going to pay for insurance.”
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) backed his Brooklyn colleague, saying he “waged a valiant fight on behalf of the American people.”
The fact that five Democrats — the exact number needed — abruptly flipped their votes on Sunday and that almost all of them are either retiring or aren’t up for re-election until 2030 has fueled distrust and sneaky suspicions that the surrender was coordinated with others in the caucus. Progress Action Fund founder Joe Jacobson called for primaries against them all, adding in a statement, “These feeble Democrats didn’t cross the aisle. They crossed the f–king line.”
“Many suspect he [Schumer] actually did generally agree with this path forward, but couldn’t personally support it for his own political calculations, which is sh—y for its own set of reasons,” a source added, noting that House Dems are “pretty upset” with the Senate defectors.
Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) denied that Schumer backed the shutdown deal, saying he “fought like hell against” it.
Schumer isn’t up for re-election until 2028, and could face a primary challenge from Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), 36, who has energized the progressive base
Others downplayed the attacks on Schumer as publicity stunts.
“It seems the only time Democrats like Mr. Khanna get their name in the news is when they cry,” said one Hill source. “Schumer seems to have held an avalanche back for 40 days. He didn’t cry.”
For months, Democrats and progressive activists seethed as President Trump and the GOP racked up win after win, while they were all but powerless to stop any of it.
The government shutdown proved to be a rare point of leverage Democrats had against Republicans — something that some on the left aren’t ready to give up.
So far, no member of the Senate Democratic Caucus has publicly called on Schumer to step aside. But some Dem candidates vying for the Senate are implying that Schumer should do so, including Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Mass.), Maine Senate candidate Graham Platner, and Iowa state Sen. Zach Wahls.
Democratic pols with an eye on the 2028 presidential cycle, such as California Gov. Gavin Newsom, former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, and others, rebuked the Senate defectors.
“Democrats are justifiably angry because, other than the promise of a symbolic, one-house vote on the ACA subsidies, nothing was won for the American people in this so-called deal,” said Skoufis, the New York state lawmaker.
By Ryan King and Josh Christenson
