Democrat lawmakers are in open revolt against Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., after a handful of colleagues broke ranks to help end the weekslong government shutdown without winning any guarantee to preserve enhanced Obamacare subsidies.
Schumer voted against the bipartisan stopgap deal, but that didn't spare him from a firestorm from liberals.
Liberals in both chambers blasted him as weak and ineffective after eight members of the Senate Democrat caucus voted Sunday to advance the House-passed bill, clearing the way to reopen federal agencies through early 2026.
Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., led the charge, declaring on X that Schumer is "no longer effective and should be replaced," arguing that if he couldn't stop looming premium hikes, he shouldn't be leading Senate Democrats.
Rep. Seth Moulton , D-Mass., now running for the Senate, called the vote "another example of why we need new leadership" and urged colleagues to pledge not to back Schumer after 2026.
The rebellion underscores a deep split inside the Democratic Party, with far-left liberals demanding a shutdown-level fight to lock in Obamacare subsidies while other party members buckled under public pressure to get the government running again.
After 40 days of stalemate, Sens. Dick Durbin, D-Ill.; Jacky Rosen, D-Nev.; John Fetterman, D-Pa.; Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev.; Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H.; Maggie Hassan, D-N.H.; Tim Kaine, D-Va.; and Angus King, I-Maine, voted to move the legislation forward, according to the New York Post.
Yet instead of focusing their ire on Republicans or President Donald Trump, many Democrats turned their anger inward.
Rep. Mark Pocan, D-Wis., mocked Schumer for negotiating what he called a "terrible deal" that "does nothing real about health care."
Democratic National Committee officials and liberal governors complained the compromise was a betrayal of voters who had just handed Democrats election night wins and expected a hard line on health care spending.
The bill does reopen the government, restore pay to federal workers and rehire those laid off during the funding lapse.
In return, Democrats received only a promise that Senate GOP leaders will hold a December vote on extending the expiring Obamacare tax credits.
There is no guarantee the measure will pass the Senate, and House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., hasn't committed to taking it up at all.
That was not enough for ultraliberals.
Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., called the stopgap "a mistake" that fails to "arrest the health care catastrophe," Politico reported.
Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., dismissed GOP assurances as "a wink and a nod," while Sen. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., said the vague promise of a future vote "does not meet the threshold" for real leadership.
Even some Democrats who supported the deal acknowledged that Republicans simply refused to budge on the subsidies and that the shutdown was unsustainable.
Shaheen argued voters want Washington to "work together," not stay locked in a partisan staredown.
Charlie McCarthy ✉
Charlie McCarthy, a writer/editor at Newsmax, has nearly 40 years of experience covering news, sports, and politics.
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