'Very much in disarray': Dem scrambles as CNN host asks if party is in turmoil

Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) shifted the blame to Republicans Friday when CNN's Brianna Keilar claimed the Democratic Party seemed "very much in disarray" — and asked how they planned to fix the problem.

Major cracks in the Democratic Party appeared this week as Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said he planned to vote in favor of the GOP funding bill that pushes President Trump's agenda. The alternative, Schumer said — a government shutdown — was just what Trump and his cohort Elon Musk wanted to see happen.

"Our Dana Bash reporting that your colleague, Sen. Michael Bennett, was very upset in a private meeting this week. That he accused Democratic leadership in the Senate of having 'no strategy, no plan, and no message,'" Keilar said. "That was the quote on the spending bill. And then we just got word that Hakeem Jeffries, Democratic leader in the House, was asked, just moments ago, if he has confidence in Schumer, and his answer was to say, 'Next question.' I mean, what do you say to the appearance of this disarray?"

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Blumenthal agreed that the party needs to be "unified" to fight against "the slide toward tyranny." In opposition to Schumer, Blumenthal said he's voting "no" on the continuous resolution "because of the harm it will do."

"Sir, I hear you on that, but right now, constituents look at your party and they see you fighting each other, and they are looking for that unity that you're talking about, but they're not they're not getting it. It's not there," Keilar said. "What do you say to those folks who are looking for leaders to be on the same page and to have a clear strategy, because we're getting clear signs that is not the case right now."

"I'll be very blunt, Brianna," Blumenthal said, continuing, "I think we need to come together, no question about it."

He then suggested that the Democrats should be "angry at that predicament and the choice that we have been made to take."

Keilar asked where he was placing responsibility for turning the situation around.

"That's the key question. We need to focus on who has foisted this choice — two terrible alternatives — on us: Republicans in the House, Republicans in the Senate. And we need to work to avoid that kind of choice in the future," Blumenthal said.

Watch the clip below via CNN.