The aftereffects of Senate Democrats’ decision to help Republicans pass legislation to avert a government shutdown without securing any concessions are still being felt. Having won nothing — including assurances that congressionally approved legislation would not be touched by DOGE cuts — voters are furious with the Senate minority leader.
His allies are doing absolutely nothing to throw him a lifeline.
First, there was House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries telling reporters and news outlets that he disagreed with his colleague’s strategy. Then it was Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, widely viewed as Schumer’s greatest threat in a Democratic primary, calmly laying out the frustrations of the base, especially progressives and younger voters, in an in-studio evening interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper.
Then finally, the knife from Nancy Pelosi, speaker emerita and continued power broker in the House caucus.
“I myself don’t give away anything for nothing,” she said at a press conference. “I think that’s what happened the other day.”
A classic Pelosi backhand, coupled with her statement of support for Schumer’s continued leadership of the Senate caucus. She, like other Democrats, has seen the writing on the wall and just delivered the same kind of non-endorsement that the former speaker gave Joe Biden in the wake of his disastrous June 2024 debate performance — a tacit green light for the avalanche of calls for Biden to drop out which followed.
The pressure has forced Schumer into doing the rounds on center-left media where he has sought to both acknowledge the frustrations of his party’s base while maintaining that there was nothing he could have done to achieve a better outcome. He even postponed his book tour over concerns of meeting protesters at small-venue events.
His damage control journey has included two stops for interviews with MSNBC’s Chris Hayes, a lengthy sit-down with The New York Times, and a stop on The View, where the Senate Democratic leader found no refuge from the anger and disappointment aimed in his direction.
“I think you caved. I don’t think you showed the fight this party needs right now, because you’re playing by a rulebook where the other party has thrown that rulebook away,” co-host Sunny Hostin said.
“True,” Schumer responded, presumably to the latter half of Hostin’s comment. She’d go on to accuse him of clearing the way for Republicans to “gut Social Security”.
“That bill,” he told the co-hosts, “was bad. I hated it, but it does far less damage [than a shutdown].”
“We’re going to fight, we’re going to fight them on tariffs, we’re going to fight them on Social Security. We’re going to stick it to them and fight hard.”
His apology tour comes as congressional Democrats are facing some of their worst approval ratings in recent memory. With no alternatives willing to publicly step forward and challenge his leadership yet (the earliest leadership elections would take place is late 2026), Schumer is nevertheless already stuck defending his political future.
“I am the best leader for the Senate,” he told CBS Mornings on Tuesday. “I am the best at winning Senate seats.”
The swearing-in of the next Congress and the next referendum on Chuck Schumer’s leadership is still a long way away. For better or worse, he’ll have plenty more opportunities in the months ahead to prove that he can embody the Democratic base’s desire to fight.
