Senate Democrat leaders said it himself Tuesday night cable news. By staying with Republicans on the government fundraising bill, Chuck Schumer knew that members of his own party would oppose him.
But what might have been unpredictable was how quickly criticism spread across his left flank.
Just this week, Maryland Rep. Glen Ivy aired frustration with Illinois Gov. J.B. Pretzker and Minnesota Gov. Tim Waltz, one of Schumer’s longtime allies and former speaker Nancy Pelosi dropped him.
“I personally don’t give anything for anything,” Pelosi told reporters Tuesday at a press conference at Children’s Hospital in San Francisco. “I think that’s what happened the other day.”
Five days after the vote, Schumer bashing has become mainstream. He continues the drumbeat of criticism that first began when he announced that he would join Republicans, eight other Democrats and one independent and move forward to funding the government.
What began as a parliamentary activist group and progressive members moved towards both the party’s political centre and the country’s centre. This criticism comes when the party struggles to find a way against Republican strangulation of Washington’s power.
“I’m opposed to what he did and I’m sternly evident,” Illinois’ Pretzker said. Former vice presidential candidate Walz said Democrats have “give up leverage” when they appeared on California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s podcast.
And then there was Pelosi.
By stacking on Tuesday, Pelosi “gives permission slips for everyone to continue,” said a Democratic strategist who was given anonymity to speak openly about the situation.
And they did.
“I admire Chuck Schumer. I think he had a great, long-standing career,” Ivy (D-Md.) told an audience Tuesday night, including many government workers. “But I’m worried that there will be a time when Senate Democrats will acquire a new leader.”
In an interview with MSNBC’s Chris Hayes on Tuesday night, Schumer not only defended the decision when necessary to prevent the closure from coming to American workers, but also promoted his own political skill.
“I’m a smart politician. I can read what people want,” Schumer said. For a while, he emphasized that Republicans had proposed “awful, awful, bill.”
“I couldn’t tolerate it, I couldn’t live with it,” he added.
He is not the only Democrat who does the math. about the bill and his political status. Dary Sulagou, a strategist in Pelosi’s hometown of Democrats, argues that these types of disagreements are business as usual for Democrats.
“That’s exactly what we do,” he said. “You know, we are this dysfunctional family that agrees to one thing. It means we want to protect the interests of ordinary working Americans.”
Schumer again hit the cable on Wednesday morning, working to shift his focus to the party’s message to President Donald Trump.
“Now we can really chase him and let the public know who he is,” Schumer told MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.” “When they know who he is, show them what we did and what we want to do.”
Schumer’s Senate colleagues also quickly dismiss the idea that he should be removed as leader. But even some of them have expressed concern that members need more guidance.
On NBC’s “Meet the Press” Sunday, Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) said Schumer “can lead the Caucus.”
But he added that Democrats “need to have a conversation within the caucus about whether they are willing to stand up to Republicans.”
Danny Nguyen contributed to this report.
