US Senate votes to end shutdown: Why Democrats are upset with Chuck Schumer

Democratic Senate leader Chuck Schumer is facing mounting calls to step aside after seven Democrats broke ranks with the party to vote for a Republican-led proposal to end the government shutdown without receiving concessions.

The deal does not resolve extending healthcare subsidies under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), which was one of the main demands from the Democrats.

The progressive section of the Democratic Party has blamed Schumer for the passing of the bill in the Senate on Monday, ending the longest shutdown in the country’s history.

“He’s the leader of the Senate. This deal would never have happened if he had not blessed it. Don’t take my word for it. Take the word of other senators who are saying that they kept Senator Schumer in the loop the whole time,” Democratic Representative Ro Khanna told CBS News.

The measure approved by the Senate would fund parts of the government until January 30, but excludes ACA health insurance subsidies that benefit some 24 million Americans.

The Senate Republicans, however, have agreed to hold another vote in December to decide on the healthcare subsidies. But it is not guaranteed that the healthcare subsidies will be approved.

Which Democrats voted to end the shutdown?

In the Senate, Republicans hold 53 seats and Democrats have 47, but Republicans do not have the 60 votes needed to advance bills. Eight senators who caucus with the Democrats voted to move the Republican measure forward.

Democratic senators who voted for the motion to advance the bill included Dick Durbin of Illinois; Jeanne Shaheen and Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire; John Fetterman of Pennsylvania; Catherine Cortez Masto and Jacky Rosen of Nevada; and Tim Kaine of Virginia.

Independent Senator Angus King of Maine, who caucuses with the Democrats, also voted in favour of the measure.

Why are the Democrats calling out Schumer?

Schumer, 74, did not vote in favour of the measure on Monday, but he is being accused by the party leaders of allowing the centrist Democrats to strike a deal with the Senate Republicans.

In his Senate speech on Monday, Schumer raised the issue of healthcare, saying, “The American people will not forget Donald Trump’s cruelty and heartlessness over the past six weeks,” Schumer said.

But progressive Democrats have not absolved him for failing to stop the defections.

“Leadership is about changing and adapting when there is real need, and unless we hear that, we will fail to meet the moment,” Democratic Michigan Senator Elissa Slotkin said in a statement.

Representative Khanna wrote on X on Monday, “Schumer is no longer effective and should be replaced.”

In another interview with an online US politics show, Khanna slammed Schumer for his stance on Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza, as well as his support for the 2003 Iraq war.

“You’ve had Schumer cheerleading the Iraq War, cheerleading a blank cheque to [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu, betraying us on the first shutdown … and now he’s not even willing to fight!” he told the Breaking Points.

Khanna added that Schumer should be “replaced” and the only reason more Democrats are not calling for it is that it would “offend a lot of donors”.

“Are we gonna be beholden to the donors that have gotten us two terms of Donald Trump, or are we gonna listen to people?” he asked.

While Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) of New York did not explicitly call out Schumer, she wrote in an X post on Monday: “The average ACA benefit is up to $550 a person/mo. People want us to hold the line for a reason. This is not a matter of appealing to a base. It’s about people’s lives. Working people want leaders whose word means something.”

Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib said that “the Democratic Party needs leaders who fight and deliver for working people. Schumer should step down.”

“After 40 days of holding firm, with public opinion and momentum on our side, establishment Democrats decided to cave to Trump,” left-wing activist Saikat Chakrabarti, who is running for Congress to represent San Francisco, said. “Schumer and the entire democratic leadership need to step down — and if they run for re-election, we need to primary them.”

The Senate vote came days after democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani won the New York mayoral election on the Democratic Party ticket. Mamdani was not endorsed by a number of Democrats, including Schumer.

But House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries defended Schumer. “Leader Schumer and Senate Democrats over the last seven weeks have waged a valiant fight on behalf of the American people,” he said on Monday.

Since the beginning of the shutdown, Democratic senators voted 14 times not to reopen the government as they demanded the extension of the ACA tax credits.

Schumer also faced the ire of party leaders when he backed a deal to avert a shutdown in March without getting concessions on healthcare subsidies.

Congresswoman AOC, a member of the progressive wing of the party, had called the vote a “tremendous mistake”. “I think there is a deep sense of outrage and betrayal,” she had told reporters.

While Democrats saw success in the recent local elections, emerging rifts now highlight a widening gap between the establishment Democrats and progressive and left-wing Democrats.

Can Schumer be removed?

Schumer can be removed from his position as the Senate minority leader in internal Democratic leadership elections, which would be held after the November 2026 Senate elections. The 45 Democratic senators and two independents who caucus with Democrats get to vote on this.

Even if Schumer is removed as the Democratic leader in the Senate, his seat as a senator is secure until 2028.