Democrat calls to remove Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., from his leadership post are intensifying.
Progressives and other party members are openly blaming Schumer for what they see as a collapse in the government shutdown fight, turning the New York senator into the latest symbol of Democrat disarray heading into 2026.
Eight members of the Democrat caucus voted with Republicans on Monday night to pass the new bipartisan continuing resolution to end the 41-day shutdown and reopen the government.
The progressive group MoveOn is leading the charge against Schumer, demanding he step down. Roughly 80% of the group's members surveyed said Schumer should quit.
"With Donald Trump and the Republican Party doubling healthcare premiums, weaponizing our military against us, and ripping food away from children, MoveOn members cannot accept weak leadership at the helm of the Democratic Party," the group's political action chief Katie Bethell said, accusing Schumer of presiding over a "surrender."
Schumer himself voted against the GOP bill to reopen the government, but that hasn't spared him from the left's fury.
Progressive Rep. Seth Moulton, D-Mass., complained of a "leadership vacuum," while Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., declared that "Senator Schumer is no longer effective and should be replaced."
The Wall Street Journal reported that progressive activists see the shutdown endgame as the latest evidence that Schumer is too weak to keep his caucus in line.
Adam Green of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee told donors "the legacy of Chuck Schumer is caving, not winning," the Journal reported.
Graham Platner, a Senate candidate in Maine, charged that Schumer "failed in his job yet again." Platner has been backed by Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.
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."
Democrat Senate and House candidates in states such as Iowa, Maine, and Michigan are racing to distance themselves from Schumer.
Several have already pledged not to back him as leader, while others, including some Schumer recruits, are dodging questions about whether they'll support him.
Yet even as the progressive base demands his head, Schumer is clinging to support from the party establishment.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., has praised Schumer for waging a "valiant fight" and insists he should remain leader, Axios reported.
Senate Democrats who opposed the shutdown deal have largely aimed their criticism at Republicans, not Schumer, calling his job "excruciatingly tough."
Republicans, meanwhile, remained unified in forcing some Democrats to abandon an unpopular shutdown strategy.
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