Now that Senate Democrats have finally given up on extending expanded Obamacare subsidies to end the 43-day government shutdown and joined Republicans to pass a continuing resolution funding the government, much of the country is relieved. The House quickly passed the legislation on Nov. 12, and President Donald Trump signed it, ending the grueling shutdown as Democrats caved on their demands with nothing to show for it.
While Americans are largely pleased to have the shutdown in the rear-view mirror, Democrats on the far left are out for blood after the continuing resolution passed without their healthcare subsidies being included, and they are setting their sights on Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) who faces reelection in 2028.
While Schumer did not break rank with his party to cast a positive vote to end the government shutdown — instead seven Democrats and one independent did — Democrats are furious he was unable to keep his party in line and get them their Obamacare subsidies.
According to Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), one of the Democrats who crossed lines to support the continuing resolution reopening the government, Schumer himself knew that the only way the shutdown would end would be if a handful of Democrats crossed over to support the GOP bill.
According Shaheen, Schumer was “informed throughout” that Democrats would cave to end the shutdown but stated he could not be one of the Democrats who crossed over to support the GOP bill, ensuring that unpopular mark fell on eight other senators.
The idea that Schumer left his colleagues out to dry while keeping his own hands clean, ultimately allowing his colleagues to fall on their swords and ensuring the Obamacare tax credits failed, has left Democrats irate. If Schumer was unpopular before the shutdown debacle, he is even more so now.
CNN chief data analyst Harry Enten said in the wake of the shutdown deal that Schumer’s numbers are “terrible”. According to Enten’s analysis, Schumer is the least popular Democrat Senate leader of all time, with Schumer underwater among his own party by four percentage points.
Enten noted that the reason for Schumer’s abysmal numbers are that Democrats want “a fighter”, citing CNN polling showing 69 percent of Democrats today say Congressional Democrats do too little to oppose President Donald Trump. This number is up twenty-three points since 2017.
One possible Schumer replacement, New York Democratic Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, has been vocal about Senate Democrats’ inability to pass the Obamacare subsidies in the wake of the shutdown deal.
“There’s a lot of focus rightfully on Leader Schumer, but I do think that when it comes to the Senate, it is Senate Democrats that select their leadership,” Ocasio-Cortez told Politico. “And so I actually think this problem is much bigger than Leader Schumer.”
As for how Ocasio-Cortez might fair if she attempted to replace Schumer in 2028, CNN’s polling data shows that Ocasio-Cortez’ approval rating among New York State Democrats is significantly higher than Schumer’s. Ocasio-Cortez is sitting at an approval rating of 46 percentage points among New York State Democrats, while Schumer sits as 16 percent, a difference of 30 points.
Schumer’s replacement will be an indicator of whether the Democratic Party is attempting to embrace a more centrist agenda — as some are urging them to do — or planning to drag the party further left. The 43-day shutdown, which could have been avoided had Democrats simply come to the table at the end of September, is one of many examples of Democrats putting politics over serving the American people. If AOC replaces Schumer, expect a Democrat Party that is even more inclined to fight to block conservatives at every juncture.
Manzanita Miller is the senior political analyst at Americans for Limited Government Foundation.
