Democrat strategist David Axelrod said Tuesday that Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., is "in bigger trouble now" with his party's far-left wing and predicted Schumer won't remain Democrat leader in the Senate by 2027.
Axelrod made the remarks on CNN after eight members of the Senate Democratic caucus broke ranks to strike a deal with Republicans to reopen the government.
The House is expected to vote on the bipartisan measure on Wednesday.
"I think he's been in trouble. I think he is in bigger trouble now," Axelrod said when asked if Schumer is "in trouble here with the left flank of the party."
"Sen. Schumer has been there since 1982," he continued. "My guess is that he won't be leader of the party in 2027, after this election, unless something really surprising happens."
Republican lawmakers branded the government stoppage the "Schumer shutdown," blaming the Senate leader's deference to his party's far-left wing.
Although Schumer voted against the bipartisan continuing resolution, Axelrod said the political fallout still leaves him in serious trouble.
"We're talking about the internal strife within the Democratic Party," Axelrod said.
The National Republican Senatorial Committee said the uproar has become a "Schumer vs. Bernie Sanders proxy war" across the 2026 Senate map and a new litmus test for Democrat hopefuls.
"The Chuck Schumer vs. Bernie Sanders proxy war is raging across the 2026 Senate map, and calls for an end to Schumer's reign are the radical left's new battle cry," NRSC Communications Director Joanna Rodriguez said.
She predicted Schumer's biggest problem will be electing enough Democrats "that will let him stay in power."
But amid the mounting cries from the left for Schumer to step down, Sanders himself has rebuffed the calls.
"You can argue, and I can make the case, that Chuck Schumer has done a lot of bad things," Sanders, I-Vt., said in a recent interview, "but I think getting rid of him — who's going to replace him?"
Mark Swanson ✉
Mark Swanson, a Newsmax writer and editor, has nearly three decades of experience covering news, culture and politics.
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