Democrats turn on Schumer after shutdown deal: “No longer effective”
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer is facing growing backlash within his own party after eight Senate Democrats voted with Republicans to advance a stopgap measure ending the 40-day government shutdown.
The vote — which passed Sunday night — has sparked outrage from progressives and party leaders who argue the deal fails to protect key Affordable Care Act subsidies set to expire this year, News.Az reports, citing Politico.
Lawmakers including Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), and Reps. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) and Seth Moulton (D-Mass.) condemned the move. Khanna called for Schumer’s removal, writing on X: “Senator Schumer is no longer effective and should be replaced.”
Despite Schumer himself voting against the resolution, critics accuse him of losing control of his caucus. “If Chuck Schumer were an effective leader, he would have united Democrats to vote no,” Moulton said, urging new leadership ahead of his own Senate bid in Massachusetts.
Democratic senators who backed the deal — including Dick Durbin, Jacky Rosen, John Fetterman, Catherine Cortez Masto, Jeanne Shaheen, Maggie Hassan, Tim Kaine, and independent Angus King — defended their votes as necessary to reopen the government.
The stopgap measure includes a promise of a December Senate vote on extending ACA tax credits and rehirings for federal employees furloughed during the shutdown. But several Democrats, such as Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), dismissed the assurances as “a wink and a nod.”
Meanwhile, Sen. Elizabeth Warren blamed Republicans for refusing to restore healthcare cuts, while Sen. Chris Murphy said Democrats “failed to listen to voters” after last week’s election wins.
DNC Chair Ken Martin also criticized the compromise, calling it a “betrayal of the American people,” though he placed primary blame on President Donald Trump and the GOP.
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