Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer is on the hot seat as Republicans try to portray him as the face of the government shutdown and congressional Democrats expect him to deliver something that can be sold as a victory.
The New York Democrat has broad support from his caucus and House Democrats for his moves thus far, but he is under pressure not to let the shutdown end without a significant win for his side.
Mr. Schumer’s standing in the party took a hit after he declined to use a government funding deadline in March to oppose the Trump administration’s reshaping of the federal government, which Democrats warned undermined democracy.
This time, Mr. Schumer opted to fight.
“A lot of people wondered whether we would be bullied again, and we have not been,” said Sen. Christopher Murphy, Connecticut Democrat. “So I think Sen. Schumer understands the gravity of this moment.”
What a win looks like varies among Democratic lawmakers, but their main unifying goal is to extend the party’s pandemic emergency expansion of Obamacare subsidies set to expire this year.
SEE ALSO: Some federal agency websites are calling it a ‘Radical Left Democrat shutdown’
“I think any Democrat right now that is not making a full fight to try to get 24 million people covered to ensure that their rates aren’t doubled is going to be in a very hard position,” Sen. Ruben Gallego, Arizona Democrat, said when asked whether Mr. Schumer would face consequences if he allows the government to reopen without getting anything in return.
Mr. Schumer faced significant backlash after he and nine other Senate Democrats declined to let the government shut down in March to confront the Trump administration’s policies, particularly the Department of Government Efficiency’s cost-cutting efforts.
“A shutdown would give Donald Trump and Elon Musk carte blanche to destroy vital government services at a significantly faster rate than they can right now,” Mr. Schumer said at the time.
He also argued that Democrats did not control the off-ramp for a shutdown because Republicans hold majorities in both chambers of Congress and decide what legislation to bring forward to end it.
Mr. Schumer is now realizing his March fears. This week, he made a different choice and allowed the government to shut down.
The only exception is that Elon Musk has left his post as the head of DOGE and is not directly involved in the White House’s budget-slashing maneuvers.
Most in Mr. Schumer’s caucus understood his play call in March, even though most voted differently, but House Democrats and liberal groups vehemently criticized the move. Some suggested that Mr. Schumer be removed from his leadership post or primaried in 2028.
“We organize local activists in communities in every state in the country — regular people dedicating themselves to opposing Trumpism and preserving the promise of a functioning democracy,” Ezra Levin, co-executive director of Indivisible, said at the time. “And they deserve a Democratic Party, and leadership of that party, who’s willing to fight as hard as they are.”
Republicans say the standards set by left-wing groups led Mr. Schumer into a shutdown fight that he can’t win.
“Chuck Schumer, at the behest of a bunch of liberal, far-left activist groups, has walked his Democrat colleagues into a boxed canyon,” said Senate Majority Leader John Thune, South Dakota Republican. “There is no way out.”
The only House Democrat who voted with Republicans to keep the government open, Rep. Jared Golden of Maine, agrees that the party’s left wing is in the driver’s seat.
“This government shutdown is the result of hardball politics driven by the demands far-left groups are making for Democratic Party leaders to put on a show of their opposition to President Trump,” Mr. Golden posted on social media. “The shutdown is hurting Americans and our economy, and the irony is it has only handed more power to the president.”
When asked about his departure from the March funding fight, Mr. Schumer said, “The world is totally changed.”
“People have seen the damage the Republicans are doing,” he said. “The reconciliation bill just decimated health care. Tariffs are now in effect and raising people’s costs. … They’re very, very unhappy with what is happening.”
Mr. Schumer also cited increasing “unlawfulness of the Trump administration” since March, particularly with unilateral spending moves such as impoundments and pocket rescissions that flout congressional spending directives.
Even Democrats who did not vote with Mr. Schumer to keep the government open in March said they agree the president’s escalating lawlessness made what Mr. Schumer once called a “Hobson’s choice” an easier call.
“He’s doing all the bad things anyway: sending troops to American cities, tariffs screwing up the economy, going after the rule of law, sacking prosecutors in Virginia to prosecute people he thinks are political opponents, firing people willy-nilly,” said Sen. Tim Kaine, Virginia Democrat.
Jim Manley, a Democratic Party strategist who spent 21 years in the Senate and was a top aide to Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid, said he agreed with Mr. Schumer’s choice in March. Despite his nervousness regarding the shutdown, he said, “Democrats are doing the right thing here, pushing the envelope.
“I have to acknowledge that pressure from the base plays a part in it, but I think the simple fact is that given what we’re seeing out of this administration, he’s smart enough to realize that they’re going to have to use different tactics this time,” Mr. Manley said.
Mr. Schumer is betting that the public will largely blame Mr. Trump for the shutdown and that a majority of Americans will support Democrats’ fight for health care.
A Washington Post poll released Thursday shows that gamble may pay off. The national survey of 1,010 people found that 47% of respondents blamed Mr. Trump and congressional Republicans for the shutdown, while only 30% blamed Democrats; the other 23% were unsure.
The poll also asked about “federal subsidies that reduce the cost of Affordable Care Act health insurance plans [that] are scheduled to end at the end of this year.” A significant majority of respondents, 71%, said the subsidies should continue, although the poll question is misleading because the base subsidies will continue even if the pandemic emergency expansion is not extended.
The subsidy supporters were somewhat split on the tactics; 49% said Democrats should demand an extension even if it continues the government shutdown, and 24% said Democrats should compromise to end the shutdown.
Mr. Manley said Mr. Schumer wants the policy win of extending the enhanced Obamacare subsidies, but falling short likely wouldn’t jeopardize his position as Democratic leader.
“As long as the caucus is seen as fighting, I think he’ll be just fine,” he said. “And so far at least, the majority of the caucus appears to be with him, even some of the usual suspects who get kind of squishy at times like this.”
Mr. Kaine agreed that regardless of how the shutdown fight ends, Mr. Schumer’s leadership position is “not in doubt.”
• Lindsey McPherson can be reached at lmcpherson@washingtontimes.com.
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