Chuck Schumer Survived The Shutdown Fight, But His Real Test Is Coming

WASHINGTON ― Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s decision not to block a Republican spending bill earlier this month unleashed a tidal wave of anger within the Democratic Party, prompting calls for him to step aside and shaking his hold on his caucus like never before.

But the New York senator is not out of the woods just yet. Under-fire congressional leaders historically struggle to shake off intra-party criticisms, and how he handles a battle against a massive GOP plan to extend tax cuts for the wealthy and the need to recruit candidates for the 2026 midterms will be closely watched, especially by angry constituents who feel Democrats aren’t taking the moment seriously.

“I think this has been a wake-up call for all of us,” Sen. Peter Welch (D-Vt.) said Tuesday. “The base is rightly terrified about the lawlessness of the Trump administration, and I’m seeing the caucus is really internalizing that.”

“We are united in understanding where we need to go. We’re still talking about some differences about how we get there,” Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) added.

Only a few Senate Democrats have been willing to publicly criticize Schumer’s handling of the GOP funding bill, which averted a government shutdown but did nothing to stop Trump and Musk from gutting federal agencies. (Schumer, for his part, has argued that a shutdown would have allowed Trump to close federal agencies more quickly, and for a longer period of time.)

Warren, a member of Schumer’s leadership team, bluntly told constituents at a town hall last week that Schumer’s approach was “wrong,” while Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) dodged a question at another town hall about whether the New York senator should step aside, saying only that “it’s important for people to know when it’s time to go.”

No member of the Senate Democratic caucus has directly called on Schumer to step aside, as progressive groups and even a few Democratic House members suggested.

“No one is really wanting to go there yet, but I think it has done real damage to him which will linger,” a Senate Democratic aide who requested anonymity to speak freely told HuffPost.

Democrats are instead turning their attention to a $4 trillion tax cut package Republicans are planning to move in the coming weeks that would also cut at least $1.5 trillion in spending, including to government programs like Medicaid. The party has been far more united on issues like protecting health care coverage, organizing town halls all over the country to rally opposition and pressure Republican lawmakers to reverse course.

Schumer and his caucus ultimately can’t stop the bill from passing if Republicans muster a simple majority of votes in the Senate to pass it under the so-called budget reconciliation process, which allows the majority to avoid a filibuster. They can exploit GOP divisions on the bill and make life harder for them, however, by drawing attention to the plan and making it politically painful.

“We should not make anything easy,” Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) told HuffPost, calling the Democrats’ position “popular and righteous.”

Democrats’ strategy will depend on what Republicans ultimately decide to include in the bill. There are a number of GOP senators who have concerns about drastically cutting Medicaid, which over 70 million Americans rely on. Other Republicans, meanwhile, want to see larger spending cuts to reduce the deficit, particularly if the bill hikes the debt limit.

“The next big thing will be the debt ceiling, and you’re going to have to not only have a plan, but start to socialize it sooner rather than later,” Welch said.

The beginnings of Schumer’s strategy could be seen in an ad released last week by Majority Forward, a political nonprofit controlled by his allies, targeting Republican Sens. Susan Collins of Maine, Thom Tillis of North Carolina, Joni Ernst of Iowa and Dan Sullivan of Alaska. All four are up for reelection in 2026.

The ad slams the senators for being under the thumb of Trump and billionaire Elon Musk. “If you’re terrified of these guys, you can’t do what’s right for Maine,” a female narrator says in the 30-second ad. “Tell Susan Collins to stop selling out our health care. Maine’s senator should have a spine.”