Rogue Dems

Good morning from Washington, D.C., where the federal government is creaking back open after the House voted last Wednesday to end the longest shutdown in American history, a mindboggling 43 days. The bill—a compromise? brazen surrender?—brokered in the Senate, ultimately passed the House by a margin of 222-209, with only a handful of Democrats crossing leadership to vote for the measure. As part of the agreement negotiated in the Senate, the White House is required to rehire all federal employees who were fired in the shutdown, while agencies must provide written notice to Congress that backpay has been delivered to all employees. Rep. Adam Gray (D-CA), one of the few Democrats to vote for the bill in the House, pitched the package as a win for Democrats, waxing optimistic, “I think the progress the Democrats have made by actually getting a year extension on the SNAP program in the Agriculture bill specifically is appropriate. We need to take the poor families and working families that are in need of these programs out of the middle of a fight that was never appropriate.”

Most Democrats, however, disagree, since they are leaving the shutdown without concrete action on the expiring healthcare subsidies. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) indicated that House Democrats will continue pushing for an extension, declaring in a floor speech before the vote, “There’s only two ways that this fight will end. Either Republicans finally decide to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits this year, or the American people will throw Republicans out of their jobs next year and end the Speakership of Donald J. Trump once and for all.” Tough talk . . . in defeat. 

Despite voting no on the deal in the Senate, much of the angst and frustration on the Left has been directed straight at Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY). That anger is especially intense regarding his inability to stop the eight members of his caucus who voted with Republicans to reopen the government, absent a deal on healthcare. Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA), a progressive leader, posted on X: “Senator Schumer is no longer effective and should be replaced. If you can’t lead the fight to stop healthcare premiums from skyrocketing for Americans, what will you fight for?” Rep. Mark Pocan’s (D-Wis) criticism of Schumer was not limited to the funding fight, posting: “Don’t endorse or say who you voted for in NYC despite there being a Dem candidate. Get Dem Senators to negotiate a terrible ‘deal’ that does nothing real about healthcare. Screw over a national political party. Profile of scourge? Next.” Much of that criticism neglects the realities of how the Senate and the party caucuses function in the Senate, and the realities of actual battles being fought in the Senate chess board, but reflect a true—and growing—feeling of anger, rage at their continued helplessness, and the energy and enthusiasm by activists within the Democratic Party to change anything, even if that power is severely limited beyond “blue” states and cities.

As part of the reopening deal, Senate Republicans promised a standalone vote on Affordable Care Act subsidies in December, but Democrats are light on trust with their GOP colleagues. Senator Elissa Slotkin (D-MI) offered, “The promise of a vote in over a month does not meet that threshold. What’s clear is that the old way of doing business continues to fail America. Leadership is about changing and adapting when there is real need, and unless we hear that, we will fail to meet the moment.” In a small glimmer of hope for Democrats, there appears to be a bipartisan desire in the House to address the looming healthcare cost increases if ACA credits are allowed to expire. On Thursday, a bipartisan group of House members sent a letter to Schumer and Majority Leader Thune, saying in part, “We kindly request that you include both House Democrats and Republicans in the legislative process leading to the promised health care reform vote in December. If we work together, our hope is that the bill will not only achieve a 60-vote majority in the Senate, but will also then move to the House for immediate consideration and passage. Bipartisan engagement across both chambers will be essential to crafting a health care proposal that can pass and be signed into law.” Among the Republicans signing onto the letter were Reps. Jeff Van Drew (NJ), Don Bacon (NE), Mike Lawler (NY), Jeff Hurd (CO), Rob Bresnahan (PA), Tom Barrett (MI), Tom Kean (NJ), Ryan Mackenzie (PA), and Monica De La Cruz (TX).

Schumer’s leadership over the direction of the Democratic Senate is also being tested on the campaign trail, where candidates, many of them recruited by Schumer directly, are facing strong primary challenges from the Left. In past years, Senate Democratic Leadership has been successful in clearing primary fields for their preferred candidates, but that is less true this primary cycle. Senator Bernie Sanders has been quite active on the campaign trail, using his national profile to boost lesser-known progressive primary candidates. In an interview, Sanders crowed, “What you are seeing is a growing division among Democrats as to what the future of the Democratic Party should look like.” That dynamic is perfectly encapsulated in Maine, which Democrats see as their best chance to flip a Republican seat. Sanders paid little attention to Schumer’s endorsement of 77-year-old Governor Janet Mills, instead throwing his weight behind Graham Platner, a plain-speaking oyster farmer who more closely aligns with Sanders’ brand of progressive economic populism, but is now facing plenty of problems of his own making. Sanders also waded into the Senate primary contest in Michigan, endorsing progressive Abdul El-Sayed over two more moderate candidates—state Senator Mallory McMorrow and Rep. Haley Stevens. The results of these contests, and their subsequent performance in the General Election, will be a key bellwether for the direction of the Democratic Party heading into 2028.

-Jack O’Donnell

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