Democrats are blowing a gasket following what they view as the ultimate betrayal from eight party members in their Senate caucus who decided to break ranks on Sunday evening and vote in favor of advancing a stopgap deal to end the longest government shutdown in U.S. history. The rage is causing a massive implosion within the Democratic Party, a fire that’s now burning its leadership, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY).
Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) called the move by his colleagues a “mistake.” Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) referred to the vote on Sunday as a “very bad night.” Reps. Ro Khanna (D-CA) and Seth Moulton (D-Mass) fired off accusations at Schumer of being ineffective in his position. Even Sunny Hostin, co-host of The View, was incensed by what happened, going so far as to call for Schumer to be replaced.
“Senator Schumer is no longer effective and should be replaced,” Khanna said in a post on X. “If you can’t lead the fight to stop healthcare premiums from skyrocketing for Americans, what will you fight for?” The vote came after 40 days of government shutdown. None of the eight Senate Democrats who voted in favor of the stopgap are up for reelection in the 2026 midterms.
Despite voting no on the measure, Schumer is still being lambasted for what his colleagues believe is weak leadership. “Don’t endorse or say who you voted for in NYC despite there being a Dem candidate,” Rep. Mark Pocan (D-WI) said on social media, ripping into Schumer for not backing Democratic Socialist Zohran Mamdani during the mayoral race. “Get Dem Senators to negotiate a terrible ‘deal’ that does nothing real about healthcare. Screw over a national political party. Profile of scourge? Next.”
The eight Democrats who voted to end the shutdown include Sens. Dick Durbin, Jacky Rosen, John Fetterman, Catherine Cortez Masto, Jeanne Shaheen, Maggie Hassan, Tim Kaine, and independent Angus King. King caucuses with the Democrats so they obviously considered him an ally, especially in efforts to wrangle free healthcare for illegal immigrants.
Moulton took to social media platform X where he said, “Tonight is another example of why we need new leadership. If @ChuckSchumer were an effective leader, he would have united his caucus to vote ‘No’ tonight and hold the line on healthcare. Maybe now @EdMarkey will finally join me in pledging not to vote for Schumer?”
Following the vote, Schumer reiterated that he would “keep fighting,” however many in the party are beginning to question whether he is truly in control of the caucus. With the shutdown headed into its sixth week, the pressure on Democrats simply became too much to take. Food stamp funding dried up. Flights were canceled. Federal workers went without pay. It all added up to create a situation that was too costly for most Democrats to push the shutdown forward.
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Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) opted to take a different route and vent her frustrations on the GOP, saying, “I want Republicans to actually grow a backbone and say, regardless of what Donald Trump says, we’re actually going to restore these cuts on health care — but it looks like I’ve lost that fight.” Perhaps the fight was lost the moment Democrats decided they wanted to provide free healthcare for illegal immigrants at the taxpayer’s expense?
Murphy was also very unhappy with the compromise, going on to say, “This bill doesn’t do anything to arrest the health care catastrophe, nor does it constrain in any meaningful way President Trump’s illegality. I think the voters were pretty clear on Tuesday night what they wanted Congress to do … and I am really saddened that we didn’t listen to them.”
While Democrats have been promised a vote on the extension of the Affordable Care Act tax credits and the possible rehire of government workers who were booted during the shutdown, many of them, such as Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), don’t believe that’s enough. Schumer, who is taking the brunt for most of the dissatisfaction and fury of the left, could end up being ousted from his position, particularly if things don’t go their way come December.
Featured image: screenshot from embedded video