Demonstrators with Our Revolution delivered what the progressive activist group said were more than 10,000 digital “signatures” on Thursday to Sen. Chuck Schumer’s (D-NY) Washington office, demanding he resign as Democratic leader for his handling of the government shutdown.
The episode was the latest outpouring of anger at the New York Democrat for what liberal groups say was an unforgivable failure to keep his members united, after a group of Senate Democrats dropped their healthcare demands to help Republicans end the shutdown that concluded Wednesday.
“Whether they did this behind his back or they did it with his consent, either way shows a lack of leadership from the minority leader in the Senate,” Our Revolution Deputy Director Paco Fabien told the Washington Examiner. “We need new leadership in Congress.”
Schumer, whose office did not respond to a request for comment, voted against the deal that eight of his Democratic caucus members struck with Republicans to reopen the government. Even so, left-leaning activist groups and some House Democrats still place blame at Schumer’s feet for the defections.
Fabien, whose organization also delivered petitions to Schumer’s office in September calling on him to endorse now-Mayor-Elect Zohran Mamdani, said there was lingering frustration with the top Senate Democrat over his refusal to do so.
“He caved, and he never endorsed Zohran Mamdani for mayor of New York City, even though he was the Democratic nominee,” Fabien said. “We need leaders that will fight with us, not against us, and that’s why we need new changes in Democratic leadership in the Senate.”
Around a dozen organization members carried empty boxes with the group’s logo into Schumer’s office. Fabien told a staff member that they were environmentally conscious and had her take a photo of a barcode linking to digital copies of their petition signatures. They also attempted to deliver a tongue-in-cheek “retirement gift” in the form of an oversized cutout of a watch, but were prevented from bringing it into the building by U.S. Capitol Police, according to Fabien.
The senators who bucked their fellow Democrats say the shutdown, the longest in U.S. history at 43 days, was causing hardship for unpaid federal workers and families without benefits like food stamps and that they could no longer stick with the party’s demands to extend expiring Obamacare subsidies. Rather, they secured a guarantee from Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) for a vote on a healthcare bill of Democrats’ choosing by mid-December.
The concession was far from adequate for most of their Democratic colleagues. Still, the deal-makers have made the case that they won the messaging war by creating a national conversation about healthcare costs, a notion that progressives roundly reject.
“Unfortunately, messaging doesn’t provide healthcare to the 20 million folks that are going to lose it because of this, and they give up with a promise of a vote that is absolutely not going to pass,” Fabien said.
It’s estimated that more than 4 million Obamacare recipients out of the 24 million people with marketplace plans will be forced to drop their coverage in the coming years without the continued subsidies.
Senate Democrats are now looking to “regroup” after the shutdown defeat, but have little time to cobble together a bill extending the pandemic-era premium subsidies that could pass with the required GOP support. Democrats would, at a minimum, need to settle for stronger eligibility requirements to win over the 13 or more Senate Republicans needed to break a filibuster.
“Given the lack of leadership we’ve seen so far from Schumer and other Democrats in both the House and the Senate, I find it very unlikely that we’ll come to a compromise that will be helpful for Americans that need it the most,” Fabien said.
ACTIVISTS DELIVER 80,000 PETITIONS URGING SCHUMER AND JEFFRIES TO BACK MAMDANI
Fabien, whose organization was founded by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) following his failed 2016 presidential run, suggested Sanders would be a more effective Democratic leader in the Senate. He said Schumer’s counterpart in the House, Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), should also be replaced, despite his opposition to the shutdown deal. He floated Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), a potential 2028 primary challenger to Schumer, and Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), leader of the Progressive Caucus, as desirable replacements.
“We’re hoping to replace Democratic leadership across the board in Congress,” Fabien said.