WASHINGTON — On Wednesday, a senior House Democratic lawmaker widely thought to have presidential ambitions exclusively vented frustration to Raw Story about the bipartisan Senate deal to end the federal government shutdown.
The deal, brokered over the weekend after weeks of impasse, gave Democrats minor concessions in extending food assistance for almost a year and rehiring all the federal workers dismissed by the Trump administration during the shutdown.
It did not include a hard commitment to extend Affordable Care Act subsidies, the issue at the heart of the longest-ever federal shutdown — instead simply guaranteeing a vote on it in the Senate next month.
That's not enough for many lawmakers, who feel betrayed by leadership — and in particular are lashing out at Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY).
Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) has called for Schumer to quit.
On Wednesday, Khanna told Raw Story he views the deal as “a terrible capitulation.”
The Californian, widely reported to be mulling a White House run in 2028, said he understands the seven Democratic senators who brokered the deal — joined by Sen. Angus King (I-ME), who caucuses with the party — are moderates who want bipartisanship, "but it can't be on their terms.
“I mean, there was no compromise. We didn't get any ACA extension. Not even a year. We didn't get anything done.”
Khanna, who represents Silicon Valley, added that regarding Schumer's role, "it's a long-time feud that progressives have had, and this is kind of a culmination in it."
Other lawmakers were more noncommittal.
Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-MA), an outspoken progressive, simply said of the controversy, "We're in an unprecedented moment."
Rep. Adriano Espaillat (D-NY) said of Schumer, "He's our leader until '28."
On the ACA subsidies battle, Espaillat said simply, "We'll have to fight another day."
Other Democrats backed Schumer to stay.
Raw Story asked Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-NY), “What are you making of these calls for Schumer to go?”
Meeks said: “The problem is the Republicans. That's the problem.
“So let's not shift this on us. It's not us. We are only in this [position] because the Republicans shut the government down. The Republicans refuse to deal with the Affordable Care Act tax credits. The Republicans are the ones that cut, with the big ugly bill, Medicaid and Medicare.
“So the issue is not the Democrats in the Senate. In my estimation, the issue is the Republicans. You know, I'd like to have stuck it out longer, but I'm not gonna shift.”
Meeks also cited Democrats' good election results last week, when they took convincing victories for governor in New Jersey and Virginia, saw the progressive Zohran Mamdani win New York City mayoral race, and enjoyed encouraging results in other off-year contests.
“We saw what took place on Tuesday last week, where we got the message, right?” Meeks said. “And we won across America, and that's what's important.”
“The message is … it is not about an internal Democratic civil war. This is about getting health care for the American people. And that struggle and that battle is going to continue, and that message now is resonating throughout this country.”
Rep. Don Beyer (D-VA) had outright praise for Schumer.
“I think Chuck is not the martinet or the dictator of the Senate Democrats,” Beyer told Raw Story.
“And you get, you know, good people like Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) and Angus King and Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL), who were more responsive to the 42 million without SNAP benefits and the 8 million federal employees without paychecks. So that's not [Schumer's] fault.
“You know, he's done a very good job, holding [his party] together for seven weeks because of the shutdown.”
For their part, Schumer and his allies have disputed that he was behind the Democrats' decision to negotiate a way out of the shutdown.
A report by Axios suggested the New Yorker in fact held the moderates who cut the deal at bay for weeks, before the agreement to end the shutdown finally came together.
