A new row is bubbling up inside the Democratic Party after seven senators broke with their colleagues and voted to move a Republican-backed bill that would reopen parts of the government a move many progressives say shortchanged Americans by leaving out expanded health insurance help.
The measure passed the Senate on Monday to keep some government funding running until January 30, but it does not extend Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies that help about 24 million people afford coverage. Republicans promised another vote in December on those subsidies, but there’s no guarantee that will turn into law.
The split has focused anger on Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer. He didn’t vote for the measure, but critics say he let a group of centrist Democrats negotiate with Republicans behind the scenes and effectively green-lit the deal. Progressive voices inside the party have been quick to call for change.
“Leadership is about changing when the moment calls for it,” Michigan Sen. Elissa Slotkin said, and Representative Ro Khanna told CBS News and posted on X that Schumer should step down. Other progressives, including Rashida Tlaib and some grassroots activists, echoed that call. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez didn’t explicitly demand Schumer resign, but she warned that breaking on the ACA subsidies affects real people “it’s about people’s lives,” she wrote.
Which senators crossed the aisle? Seven Democrats voted to advance the Republican plan: 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. Independent Angus King of Maine, who caucuses with Democrats, also supported the measure. In the Senate, Republicans hold 53 seats and Democrats 47, so those defections were crucial.
Schumer defended his team’s work, saying Democrats had fought for healthcare and criticized the Republican approach. House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries also backed Schumer, saying Senate Democrats had “waged a valiant fight” during the shutdown.
The dispute taps into a long-running tension inside the party: establishment figures who favor deal-making and centrists versus the party’s progressive wing pushing for bolder, people-focused policy. Schumer has faced similar criticism before including over past deals that didn’t secure ACA help and his critics point to other issues, like foreign-policy stances and past votes, when arguing he’s out of step.
Technically, Schumer can be removed in a Democratic leadership election after the 2026 Senate contests, when senators choose their leaders again. Even then, such a change would affect his leadership role, not his Senate seat he’s up for re-election in 2028.
For now the party is divided. Some Democrats worry about the political cost of appearing to cave; others worry about the human cost of leaving millions without extended help. The fight over Schumer’s future is really a fight about strategy and priorities and about what kind of party Democrats want to be heading into the next big election.
