Progressive lawmakers have hit the ground running, with Democrat Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York rallying alongside independent Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont in the swing state of Nevada. However, their efforts are being overshadowed by the most recent shutdown showdown, and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) is feeling the heat.
Ever since President Donald Trump took office, Democrats have worked overtime to make the DOGE and Elon Musk the focal point of their political attacks.
Most recently, Ocasio-Cortez and Sanders held a joint rally in Nevada Thursday to "fight oligarchy," a sentiment that was embraced by onlookers. Coupled with the base's desire for a progressive party were calls to primary Schumer and shed old-guard Democrats.
The Democratic Party has lacked a political compass since its overwhelming defeat in November.
"Primary Chuck!" supporters shouted.
Schumer has caught a lot of heat over the last week after he caved and voted to advance a Republican-led continuing resolution after initially signaling that he was in favor of a shutdown. As a result of this reversal, several prominent Democrats like former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) disavowed the move.
While Schumer has embarked on a media tour to mitigate the damage, the Democratic base has made calls for new representation.
“We need a Democratic Party that fights harder for us too,” Ocasio-Cortez said at the rally. She also encouraged the crowd to vote for "brawlers," who she said "are the ones who can actually win against Republicans."
To her point, the Democratic Party has lacked a political compass since its overwhelming defeat in November.
Since then, the Democratic identity has diminished and the party has fractured, leading to irreconcilable differences between lawmakers like Schumer and Sanders, and it's these very differences that may cost them elections in the future.
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Democrats on Capitol Hill are unhappy after Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) mishandled last week's shutdown showdown, and they aren't hiding it.
Democratic Rep. Glenn Ivey of Maryland is the latest lawmaker to take shots at the party leader. While Schumer has spent the last few days in damage-control mode, Ivey told Politico Wednesday that Democrats "can’t afford to miss the moment again."
In response to the massive blowback, Schumer has spent the last few days on defense.
“If he can get himself together and come — you know, get right on this vote, and we get another shot at it, OK,” Ivey said. “But if he’s going to do the same thing again when this bill comes up six months from now, we can’t afford that.”
After the House passed the Republican-led funding bill on March 11, the Senate was tasked with keeping the government open before the March 14 deadline. In order to vote on the continuing resolution, the bill needed to clear a procedural vote called cloture, which required 60 votes.
In other words, Democrats had the decision to reach across the aisle and join Republicans to pass the funding bill, which was backed by President Donald Trump, or to dig their heels in and shut down the government.
Schumer initially signaled his support for a shutdown but later changed his position in favor of passing the CR to avoid a shutdown. Schumer argued that a shutdown would be worse than the funding bill, but his reversal sparked outrage throughout the Democratic Party. In the end, 10 Democrats joined 52 Republicans to advance the bill.
“We’ve got a limited number of shots at being able to fight back against the Trump administration and what they’re doing,” Ivey said. “We can’t afford to miss the moment again.”
Several prominent Democrats, like former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (Calif.) and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (N.Y.), denounced Schumer's approach, and the rank and file largely felt the same. Ivey echoed his colleagues' concerns about Schumer, saying, "Maybe he needs to go."
“Hakeem met the moment last week,” Ivey said. “Schumer missed it.”
In response to the massive blowback, Schumer has spent the last few days on defense. Schumer postponed his book tour and spent the weekend doing several media hits in an attempt to preserve his reputation. Even still, Democrats aren't buying it.
“Everybody doesn’t have to do the same temperament, everybody doesn’t have to do the same messaging,” Ivey said, “as long as they’re doing what they need to do to win their seats.”
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