Frustration is mounting inside the Democratic Party as lawmakers and activists turn their anger toward Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer after walking away from the longest government shutdown in U.S. history with little to show for it.
According to Fox News, several Democrats accused Schumer of mismanaging the shutdown strategy and failing to extract meaningful concessions from Republicans or President Donald Trump, particularly on the issue of healthcare subsidies that Democrats had sought to extend.
“I think that people did what they could to get us out of the shutdown, but what has worked in the past isn’t working now,” said Sen. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich. “And so, we need to meet the moment, and we’re not doing that.”
Democrats had hoped to use the shutdown to pressure Republicans into renewing expiring Obamacare subsidies, but the effort collapsed as internal divisions mounted. Schumer ultimately accepted a bipartisan deal to reopen the government, winning only limited victories such as back pay for furloughed federal workers and new protections against firings.
Progressive voices were among the most outspoken critics. Graham Platner, a Democratic Senate candidate in Maine, called the result “a failure of leadership in the most clear terms.”
“Sen. Schumer is the minority leader,” Platner said. “It is his job to make sure his caucus is voting along the lines of what’s going to be good for the people of the United States. He could not maintain that.”
Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., acknowledged the frustration but warned that ousting Schumer would not be simple. “Chuck Schumer is part of the establishment,” Sanders said. “You can argue, and I can make the case, that Chuck Schumer has done a lot of bad things, but getting rid of him — who’s going to replace him?”
Still, discontent is spreading. Rep. Mike Levin, D-Calif., declared, “Chuck Schumer has not met this moment, and Senate Democrats would be wise to move on from his leadership.”
California Gov. Gavin Newsom summed up his reaction in a single word on X: “Pathetic.”
Not all Democrats joined the revolt. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., defended Schumer, saying he “kept us in the loop and was open to our conversations.”
But the damage appears done. According to polling cited by CNN analyst Harry Enten, Schumer is now the least popular Democratic leader among Democratic voters since 1985 — a sign that, for many in his party, patience with his leadership may be running out.
