\n<\/p>\n
Democratic Senate leader Chuck Schumer is facing mounting calls to step aside after seven Democrats broke ranks with the party to vote for a Republican-led proposal to end the government shutdown without receiving concessions.<\/p>\n
The deal does not resolve extending healthcare subsidies under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), which was one of the main demands from the Democrats.<\/p>\n
The progressive section of the Democratic Party has blamed Schumer for the passing of the bill in the Senate on Monday, ending the longest shutdown in the country\u2019s history.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s the leader of the Senate. This deal would never have happened if he had not blessed it. Don\u2019t take my word for it. Take the word of other senators who are saying that they kept Senator Schumer in the loop the whole time,\u201d Democratic Representative Ro Khanna told CBS News.<\/p>\n
The measure approved by the Senate would fund parts of the government until January 30, but excludes ACA health insurance subsidies that benefit some 24 million Americans.<\/p>\n
The Senate Republicans, however, have agreed to hold another vote in December to decide on the healthcare subsidies. But it is not guaranteed that the healthcare subsidies will be approved.<\/p>\n
In the Senate, Republicans hold 53 seats and Democrats have 47, but Republicans do not have the 60 votes needed to advance bills. Eight senators who caucus with the Democrats voted to move the Republican measure forward.<\/p>\n
Democratic senators who voted for the motion to advance the bill included Dick Durbin of Illinois; Jeanne Shaheen and Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire; John Fetterman of Pennsylvania; Catherine Cortez Masto and Jacky Rosen of Nevada; and Tim Kaine of Virginia.<\/p>\n
Independent Senator Angus King of Maine, who caucuses with the Democrats, also voted in favour of the measure.<\/p>\n
Schumer, 74, did not vote in favour of the measure on Monday, but he is being accused by the party leaders of allowing the centrist Democrats to strike a deal with the Senate Republicans.<\/p>\n
In his Senate speech on Monday, Schumer raised the issue of healthcare, saying, \u201cThe American people will not forget Donald Trump\u2019s cruelty and heartlessness over the past six weeks,\u201d Schumer said.<\/p>\n
But progressive Democrats have not absolved him for failing to stop the defections.<\/p>\n
\u201cLeadership is about changing and adapting when there is real need, and unless we hear that, we will fail to meet the moment,\u201d Democratic Michigan Senator Elissa Slotkin said in a statement.<\/p>\n
Representative Khanna wrote on X on Monday, \u201cSchumer is no longer effective and should be replaced.\u201d<\/p>\n
In another interview with an online US politics show, Khanna slammed Schumer for his stance on Israel\u2019s genocidal war on Gaza, as well as his support for the 2003 Iraq war.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019ve had Schumer cheerleading the Iraq War, cheerleading a blank cheque to [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu, betraying us on the first shutdown \u2026 and now he\u2019s not even willing to fight!\u201d he told the Breaking Points.<\/p>\n
Khanna added that Schumer should be \u201creplaced\u201d and the only reason more Democrats are not calling for it is that it would \u201coffend a lot of donors\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cAre we gonna be beholden to the donors that have gotten us two terms of Donald Trump, or are we gonna listen to people?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n
While Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) of New York did not explicitly call out Schumer, she wrote in an X post on Monday: \u201cThe average ACA benefit is up to $550 a person\/mo. People want us to hold the line for a reason. This is not a matter of appealing to a base. It\u2019s about people\u2019s lives. Working people want leaders whose word means something.\u201d<\/p>\n
Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib said that \u201cthe Democratic Party needs leaders who fight and deliver for working people. Schumer should step down.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter 40 days of holding firm, with public opinion and momentum on our side, establishment Democrats decided to cave to Trump,\u201d left-wing activist Saikat Chakrabarti, who is running for Congress to represent San Francisco, said. \u201cSchumer and the entire democratic leadership need to step down \u2014 and if they run for re-election, we need to primary them.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Senate vote came days after democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani won the New York mayoral election on the Democratic Party ticket. Mamdani was not endorsed by a number of Democrats, including Schumer.<\/p>\n
But House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries defended Schumer. \u201cLeader Schumer and Senate Democrats over the last seven weeks have waged a valiant fight on behalf of the American people,\u201d he said on Monday.<\/p>\n
Since the beginning of the shutdown, Democratic senators voted 14 times not to reopen the government as they demanded the extension of the ACA tax credits.<\/p>\n
Schumer also faced the ire of party leaders when he backed a deal to avert a shutdown in March without getting concessions on healthcare subsidies.<\/p>\n
Congresswoman AOC, a member of the progressive wing of the party, had called the vote a \u201ctremendous mistake\u201d. \u201cI think there is a deep sense of outrage and betrayal,\u201d she had told reporters.<\/p>\n
While Democrats saw success in the recent local elections, emerging rifts now highlight a widening gap between the establishment Democrats and progressive and left-wing Democrats.<\/p>\n
Schumer can be removed from his position as the Senate minority leader in internal Democratic leadership elections, which would be held after the November 2026 Senate elections. The 45 Democratic senators and two independents who caucus with Democrats get to vote on this.<\/p>\n
Even if Schumer is removed as the Democratic leader in the Senate, his seat as a senator is secure until 2028.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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