My general sense of this is that the anger against Sen. Schumer over his vote on the CR is winding down, but there are still progressives who see this as an opportunity to lash out at a major establishment figure. That message is now being channeled through "liberal youth groups," i.e. the Sunrise Movement.
Liberal youth groups are piling onto Chuck Schumer, urging the Senate minority leader in a new letter to fight more aggressively against President Donald Trump or resign as leader.
“Chuck Schumer, your leadership is failing to meet the moment,” reads the memo, which was first shared with POLITICO. “Gen Z voters want leaders with a backbone who will stand up to billionaires and fight for working people. But it’s not just us. You have lost the trust of millions of voters and many of your colleagues in Congress.”
The sideswipe against Schumer is the latest sign of mounting pressure he is facing from within his party after voting last week for a GOP stopgap funding bill.
Again, I'm not sure the pressure is actually mounting, but clearly that's the image these progressive groups would like to create. Still, there may be something to the sound of desperation emanating from this letter. [emphasis in original]
If you want our support, itʼs time to get bolder, get louder, or make way for leadership who will. If you donʼt get this right, we are ready to take the reins of this party ourselves to shape it into a force that can fight for working people and defeat growing authoritarian power.
If Democrats donʼt change course now, you will cede even more young and working-class voters in 2026, 2028, and beyond. That would have devastating consequences, not just in 2026 but for generations to come.
They are probably right that Schumer is going to lose even more young and working-class voters in the next election, but that trend has nothing to do with this vote. More to the point, moving farther left will probably only accelerate that decline. Working-class voters have been moving away from Democrats partly because Democrats have moved so far left on so many issues. The groups that are increasingly siding with the party are those who have also moved left, especially college grads who've been drinking from the DEI firehose at universities over the past decade.
It's not just the progressive youth who are revolting (pun intended), it's also the very old former leaders of the party.
Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi offered a sharp critique of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer on Tuesday, suggesting he had forfeited a crucial bargaining chip by allowing a vote on Republicans’ government funding bill.
“I myself don’t give away anything for nothing,” Pelosi told reporters during a news conference at a children’s hospital in San Francisco. “I think that’s what happened the other day.”
And as Axios pointed out yesterday, Pelosi isn't the only House Democrat who is disappointed.
Rep. Delia Ramirez (D-Ill.), asked at a town hall on Tuesday whether Schumer should "retire or step down," nodded her head and said "yes." Ramirez's comments have not previously been reported.
The liberal group Indivisible has also called on Schumer to resign as leader. Rep. Glenn Ivey (D-Md.) also followed suit at a town hall on Tuesday.
One House Democrat, asked if more could follow, told Axios: "I think there are some already there but just haven't been asked directly or avoided the question."
Remember, it wasn't just Schumer who voted for the Republican CR to move forward. Nine other members of the Democratic caucus were involved. So criticizing Schumer at this point would be criticizing all of them as well. The rabble in the House can keep complaining but unless that discontent spread to the Senate, Schumer isn't going anywhere. So far, only one Senator has walked up to that line and he didn't cross it.
Sen. Michael Bennet stopped just short of saying that Chuck Schumer should no longer lead the Senate Democratic caucus, but he did say the senator should know when it’s time to step away...
“I do think on the leadership question, it's always better to, you know, examine whether folks are in the right place, and we're certainly going to have that conversation,” Bennet said...
“And in dodging your question, let me just say it's important for people to know you know when it's time to to go,” he said. But Bennet stopped short of calling for Schumer to step aside.
The backlash is enough that Sen. Schumer is effectively on notice. If he appears to be giving in to Republicans one more time this year, then I think he really would be done. His popularity in the party more broadly is not what it once was.
Economist/YouGov Poll
— YouGov America (@YouGovAmerica) March 19, 2025
In less than a month, opinion of Chuck Schumer among Democrats has declined sharply:
• Favorable views have fallen to 39% from 57%
• Unfavorable views have risen to 41% from 18%
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