Politics
Schumer keeps his job as Democrats wonder if he’s on borrowed time
Chuck Schumer is bruised but not beaten — at least not yet.
Two weeks after the Senate minority leader joined with Republicans to prevent a government shutdown, Democrats are still fuming over how he handled the standoff. But many in the party are conceding that they’re stuck with him for the time being.
With no obvious alternative to Schumer emerging nor any appetite among the vast majority of Senate Democrats for a messy leadership contest, lawmakers are indicating they are falling in behind the New Yorker and hoping for the best as they prepare for upcoming fights. Some frustrated Democratic donors have made the same calculation.
After Schumer enraged his party by voting to advance the Republican stopgap measure, he went into damage-control mode making a flurry of media appearances, pleading his case to lawmakers, and working the phones with liberal groups. Even as a handful of House members and outside progressive activists called for him to step aside, he avoided any defections inside his own caucus. And Schumer’s seeming omnipresence enabled him to run out the clock until another news cycle — this one over the Trump administration’s war plan group chat — began.
“Chuck’s been reaching out to everyone and having conversations with folks, which I appreciate,” said Sen. Ben Ray Lujan (D-N.M.) on Wednesday. Asked if there were discussions about replacing Schumer as leader, Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) added: “Not within the caucus.”
Instead, Schumer is working to convince his members that he understands they need to ramp up their tactics. “Leader Schumer is, in fact, demonstrating the kind of vision and energy that we need right now in a renewed or a stronger way,” said Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), pointing to the closed-door discussions, Democrats’ floor strategy and forthcoming actions from the caucus.
Some Democratic lawmakers, donors and activists warned that Schumer is now under a political microscope, with many in the party closely watching how he handles upcoming battles in Congress over the debt limit, Republicans’ planned domestic policy agenda and the next government funding bill.
Even some members of Schumer’s caucus said he still has work to do to win their confidence. Asked about Schumer’s leadership on Wednesday, Sen. Andy Kim (D-N.J.) said, “We’re still talking it through.”
“I want to see what the strategy is going forward,” he said. “If I feel like it’s moving in a direction, I can go and I’ll have some greater confidence. But if not, then I’ll certainly make that known.”
Schumer’s vote exposed a broader rift in the party over how to counter President Donald Trump in his second term. The vote prompted a handful of House lawmakers to publicly suggest or outright call for Schumer to step aside. Some liberal groups have piled on with demands for stronger leadership.
“Schumer made a disastrous decision,” said Rep. Greg Casar (D-Texas), chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, adding later that he “hopes” Schumer and Senate Democrats see that the voters want them to fight Republicans. Otherwise, he said, “the voters are going to make them see it if they don’t see it themselves.”
A few weren’t just after Schumer’s leadership role. They were angry enough to call for his seat.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) has received private encouragement from Democratic House members, including even those in battleground districts, to mount a primary challenge to Schumer in 2028. But Ocasio-Cortez is currently noncommittal about moving forward.
“My focus is our strength in this particular moment and what we can do right now to be the party that stands up for working people and protects against Republican cuts,” she said in a brief interview. Asked whether Schumer should remain leader, she said the issue was “less about any one specific person.”
But the decision by some House Democrats to step into a Senate leadership discussion has rankled some senators, including former House members. Lujan, asked about the criticism from his former colleagues, quipped: “I’m not aware of my colleagues voting for the leader of the Senate.”
Inside the Senate, Schumer has taken steps to acknowledge the anger and disappointment over the spending-bill surrender. Kaine said on Wednesday that Schumer “was very candid and humble” in addressing his colleagues at a private lunch Tuesday “and then focused on the next steps.” Unlike the lunches in the days leading up to the government funding vote, where senators could be heard yelling, moments of applause were overheard during their first meeting after the break.
The result, he said, was a “very productive discussion” about “‘what do we need to do different?’”
Schumer’s spokesperson did not provide a comment for this article.
Senate Democrats acknowledge that they haven’t yet fully landed on what they believe eluded them just two weeks ago — a strategy that both unifies them and gives them a foothold for fighting despite their limited leverage. But they are making clear that their public focus, at least, is on the Trump administration and gearing up for looming battles over the debt ceiling and a sweeping GOP tax plan.
“My top priority is ending the lawlessness of the Trump administration. My next priority is ending the lawlessness of the Trump administration. … I think you get my drift,” said Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), when asked about questions on Schumer’s leadership.
Outside of Congress, major Democratic donors are also furious over Schumer’s handling of the GOP funding bill and his leadership in general. But without a clear successor, people close to the fundraisers said there isn’t much they can do. The next Senate leadership contest will come after the 2026 election, when they could already have a vacancy at the top of their ranks if Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) retires. Schumer, if he runs again for the top spot, would only need a simple majority of his caucus to win.
Donors “think he’s ineffective, but the question is, who else is going to step in? And that’s where things get stuck,” said one Democratic donor adviser, who, like others in this story, was granted anonymity to discuss private conversations.
“No senator is presenting themselves as an alternative, so that’s a major barrier to any donor momentum to pressure him out,” a second Democratic donor adviser said. “If somebody signaled to donors they wanted to be that alternative, I do think there would be real movement around that. But it hasn’t come yet.”
A third Democratic donor adviser said fundraisers think Schumer is “deeply pathetic,” but “I do think he has squashed a lot of the specific rumblings” about a new leader.
House lawmakers who publicly and privately fumed at Schumer after he and a group of Senate Democrats voted to advance the GOP funding bill heard an earful from their constituents back home last week who have demanded more forceful, public resistance to Trump.
Even swing-district Democrats who might face pressure to work with Trump acknowledged that their voters wanted them to push back. All but one House Democrat, Rep. Jared Golden (D-Maine), had voted against the funding bill.
Constituents “want to see more from us,” said Rep. Chris Pappas (D-N.H.), who could mount a Senate bid to succeed retiring Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.). “They know there are other battles to be waged, and they’re really interested in us continuing to dig in and stand up for what counts.”
And others dismissed the speculation over Schumer’s future while they focused on the current fights against Trump.
“So this is not about, no offense, like the inside baseball political leadership. Nobody gives a fuck. They want to know, are we fighting for them? Are we going to protect them? Are we going to stop them?” said Rep. Pat Ryan (D-N.Y.).
Under the political radar, the country’s food stamps program is undergoing a slow-motion transformation. The ramifications could bubble up into the midterms.
Changes to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program from Republicans’ One Big Beautiful Bill Act are rolling out in phases, from tougher work requirements to restrictions on non-citizens. Food stamp rolls already shrank by more than 5 million people nationwide as of this summer, as the hardest-hit state, Arizona, saw an outright majority of its food stamp recipients lose benefits.
The latest alteration clicked into place Oct. 1, when the share of administrative costs states and counties have to pay rose to 75% from 50%. An even bigger financial shift looms in a year, when states with high payment error rates will have to assume some benefit costs for the first time, a scenario that’s already rippling through state and local budget planning.
It all adds up to a new era in federal-state relations — and in the size and nature of the welfare state.
In a year when affordability worries top voters’ priority lists and grocery prices strain their wallets, Democrats think the SNAP shift gives them an opening to make Republicans pay politically after the GOP used social safety net cuts to food aid and Medicaid to help pay for last year’s tax cuts.
“People are getting kicked off these programs at the very moment they’re going to the polls to vote,” House Agriculture ranking member Angie Craig (D-Minn.) said. “I sure wouldn’t want to be a Republican headed into the November ballot.”
But Republicans think they have a compelling story to tell voters, trying to right-size a program that spends millions of dollars on erroneous payments. The SNAP changes align with the Trump administration’s broader push to crack down on fraud and make the government smaller or more efficient. Implementing stricter work requirements for welfare often polls well, and trying to move people toward work gets at the root causes of poverty, they argue.
“The premise is simple: Let’s make sure that this program is preserved for those truly in need, and that we aren’t squandering taxpayer dollars,” a senior USDA official told Playbook in an interview. “And let’s make sure that if folks are able-bodied, they are work training or volunteering for 20 hours per week.”
That doesn’t mean Republicans in competitive races are putting SNAP and Medicaid cuts front and center on the campaign trail. When they tout last year’s megalaw, new tax breaks typically lead the messaging. And 10 frontline GOP House campaigns didn’t respond to requests for interviews about how they can win on SNAP.
At the state and county level, some governments are scrambling to prepare for a massive cost shift, hitting at the same time as significant Medicaid changes. The resulting bureaucratic jumble has contributed to some of the SNAP losses this year, as recipients struggled to get through overtaxed call centers, some states cut staff, and others tightened their processes.
“It really sets up a change in the federal responsibility, and I view it as a slippery slope,” warned Barbara Guinn, New York’s commissioner of the Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance. Her state is staring down a possible $1 billion added burden next year, though they’re advocating for a repeal of the benefits change. “Once they implement any kind of cost shift, I think it will be easier for them to take similar actions in the future.”
Whether to delay next year’s cost shift has already generated tensions over the farm bill in the Senate, where Democrats are demanding a longer postponement than Republicans’ offer of one year. Some Minnesota counties are considering significant property tax increases to pay for the extra costs, Craig said: “We’re going to be pushing hard for a two-year delay — at the request of, frankly, many of my Republican county commissioners, not just Democrats.”
Conservatives see the new calculus as a long overdue change to improve efficiency and incentivize program integrity. Improper payment rates are high in many states (though they comprise both over-payments and under-payments, and error rates are different from fraud). Those that reduce errors enough won’t have to take on paying the benefits. And even opponents of the changes think lower error rates are a worthy goal. SNAP rolls often ebb and flow with the economy, and the recent drop could reflect the job market pulling people out of need — or the removal of people who shouldn’t have been getting food stamps in the first place.
“There needs to be some level of accountability,” the USDA official said. States with high error rates “need to start to have skin in the game.”
But at a time when many households are already squeezed by inflation, the SNAP changes have correlated with higher numbers of Americans turning to charities to ward off hunger. The surge in people losing food aid came more quickly than expected. The unemployment rate hasn’t meaningfully changed. And the vast majority of large food banks in a recent NBC survey said they were grappling with higher demand, in part due to food stamp changes. Another rule kicking in the day after the midterms could lead to many retailers being bumped out of SNAP as places where low-income people can use their benefits.
For state governments, a set of sweeping operational changes are now underway to conform to new policy demands, often requiring more money or staffing at already under-resourced offices. And the budgetary stakes to get error rates lower are sky-high.
“It’s a really complicated, nuanced and confusing time for states who are trying to administer SNAP,” said Lauren Kallins, a senior legislative director at the nonpartisan National Conference of State Legislatures, which has advocated for a delay in the benefits costs shift.
National Democrats are increasingly shifting their attention away from North Carolina’s Senate race as polls show former Gov. Roy Cooper ahead, eyeing once long-shot races as possible pickups. But a veteran Democratic strategist who helped deliver the party’s last presidential victory in the state is urging donors not to take a win for granted.
David Plouffe, who managed behind Barack Obama’s narrow 2008 victory in North Carolina, urged Democratic donors and supporters not to grow complacent in the final weeks of Roy Cooper’s Senate campaign, according to audio obtained by Blue Light News.
“I think that this race … has I think been the best run race in the country,” Plouffe said on the call. “But that doesn’t mean that we can rest easy.”
He warned about North Carolina’s relatively fixed partisan makeup as a purple state, making it difficult for a candidate to dramatically expand their base of support.
“There’s certain states that elections happen within a bound, and this one will be that way as well,” he said.
In public polling, Cooper leads Republican Michael Whatley, who has struggled to boost his name recognition against the much better-known former governor. And as Democrats grow increasingly bullish on their candidate’s chances of flipping the seat — one of four pickups they need to take control of the Senate — national groups have begun shifting their money and attention to other contests, including most recently to Kansas.
But Plouffe said North Carolina needs to remain a priority.
“We have to win the ones we have to win,” he said on the call to Cooper’s finance committee.
Just days before Plouffe’s remarks, Senate Democrats’ top super PAC pulled back some of its spending in North Carolina, following a much bigger retreat by Republicans’ top super PAC in the state.
Plouffe cautioned that North Carolina has historically been a tough state for Democrats at the federal level, especially in recent years. The party hasn’t won a Senate race there since 2008, when Obama became the last Democratic presidential candidate to carry the state, winning by fewer than 15,000 votes. He lost the state in 2012.
“Even though we carried the electoral votes back then, we only did so by I think 14,000 votes. So it was our narrowest victory,” Plouffe said. “And in 2012, we tried to win North Carolina again with the help of so many people on this phone, and we just couldn’t get it done. And that tells you how difficult the state is.”
Plouffe also cast the stakes of Cooper’s race as extending beyond November, arguing that a Cooper victory could provide a blueprint for the party’s eventual 2028 presidential nominee.
“Democrats need to compete and win in North Carolina in 28,” he said. “And it’s one thing to look how a governor can win a state. The best route, the best scout that you receive, is how someone in a federal race won in a tough state, and that can show you the way.”
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