Also on Schumer’s list of White House errors: the rollout of insurance marketplaces, fixing wait lists for veterans’ hospitals, dealing with the first case of Ebola in the United States, and even security at the White House itself.
His remarks illustrated how some Democrats are trying to start to move apart and away from Obama.
“At this point now, Obama is not running for president again,” said Matthew Green, associate professor of politics at the Catholic University of America. “But Democrats in the Senate are, and they want to get back the majority at some point. They are going to be thinking about, what can we say and do to help ourselves in next election cycle?” Green said.
Former Obama aides dismissed Schumer’s comments as playing politics.
“Funny, I don’t remember Chuck Schumer giving that advice when he was privately and publicly championing the Affordable Care Act in 2010,” said Jon Favreau, a former White House speechwriter, on Twitter.
