Democratic Party infighting exposes struggle to unite against Trump
Chuck Schumer took criticism from within his own party for backing a Republican-crafted funding bill
- Published
On Friday, Chuck Schumer, the Democratic leader in the Senate, found himself in a particularly uncomfortable position.
President Donald Trump was singing his praises. And former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and other influential Democrats were expressing their dismay with him – or worse.
This was Schumer's fate the day after he decided to back a Republican-crafted measure to avert a possible US government shutdown this weekend.
Later, he followed through on his promise, voting with nine other Democrats and all but one Republican to overcome the key procedural hurdle that - if Democrats had stuck together in opposition - would have prevented the funding bill from coming to a final vote.
The Senate bill, which passed that final vote shortly after, contained a number of provisions that angered liberals. These included cuts to non-military programmes, increased spending on border security, limits on how Congress can rescind Trump's tariffs and draconian restrictions on Washington DC's budget.
Schumer acknowledged all of this, but said he was backing the bill because a shutdown, which would allow the president to determine what government services and employees to suspend, would be worse.
"I believe it is the best way to minimise the harm that the Trump administration will do to the American people," he said on Friday. "Allowing Donald Trump to take even much more power via government shutdown is a far worse option."
It didn't take long after Schumer's announcement for Democratic second guessing – and straight-up outrage – to ensue.
"Chuck Schumer is unwilling and unable to meet the moment," the Democratic group Pass the Torch, which led calls for Joe Biden to end his re-election bid last summer, said in a statement.
Pelosi, who wields considerable influence among House Democrats despite having stepped down from her leadership position, decried what she said was a "false choice" between a shutdown and accepting the Republican measure.
"We must fight back in a better way," she said, suggesting a short-term funding extension and new bipartisan negotiations. She called the Republican bill a "blank cheque that makes a devastating assault on the well-being of working families across America".
Watch: Schumer to vote 'yes' on spending bill to 'minimise the harm'
In a Friday press conference, the current House Democratic leader, Hakeem Jeffries of New York, dodged questions about Schumer. When asked if he still had confidence in his Senate counterpart, he tersely replied: "Next question."
Others in the party were less circumspect. Senator Raphael Warnock of Georgia told reporters that he expected "new leadership" in the Senate next year – or after the next presidential election in 2028.
A group of 60 House Democrats – who joined all but one in their party to vote against the Republican bill in that chamber – penned a letter to Schumer, saying that the legislation "potentially legitimises President Trump and the Republican party's dismantling of government".
"If Republicans in Congress want to pass this bill," they wrote, "they should do so with their own votes."
As if to add rub salt on Democratic wounds, Trump took to his Truth Social website on Friday morning to praise what he said was a "good and smart move" by Schumer – and to promise that more Republican legislation on taxes, spending and "so much more" was coming.
"This could lead to something big for USA," he wrote, "a whole new direction and beginning!"
While many rank-and-file Democrats and liberal activists clamoured for Schumer and Senate Democrats to block the House measure even if it triggered a government shutdown, it is unclear whether such a move would have pressured Trump and Republicans to negotiate a less partisan government-funding bill.
In fact, there are many on the right, including Trump's designated government slasher, Elon Musk, who were relishing an opportunity to use a shutdown to further hamstring the federal bureaucracy.
After days, or weeks, of shutdown pain that would disproportionately affect their supporters, the Democratic Party could have found itself in the same place it is now – with limited power and few good options.
"Neither House Democrats nor the people voting 'no' in the Senate nor the people getting mad on Twitter have an actual strategy for getting what the base wants out of this, which is some kind of act of Congress saying that Trump and Musk need to conduct the government differently," writes Matthew Yglesias, a left-leaning commentator.
Democrats have the power to block Republican legislation, but they simply don't have the votes to advance their own alternative either in the House or the Senate.
That doesn't make the situation Schumer and the Democrats have found themselves in any easier to stomach, however. Republicans, by sticking together, have been able to exert their will in Congress, while Trump pushes the boundaries of presidential power.
Elections, as they say, have consequences. And 2024's results have left Democrats deep in the wilderness.