A major progressive political organization is calling for Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer to resign, claiming he failed to keep Democrats united during the recent vote to end the government shutdown.
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The shutdown was resolved on Sunday when a group of Senate Democrats joined Republicans to advance a funding bill. The deal reopens the government, but it does not guarantee an extension of federal health insurance subsidies that are set to expire — a key priority for Democratic lawmakers and progressive activists.
Schumer, a Democrat from New York, did not break ranks in the vote. However, progressive groups argue that he failed to prevent divisions within his caucus and did not secure meaningful concessions in the final agreement.
Joseph Geevarghese, executive director of the progressive group Our Revolution, issued a sharply worded statement demanding Schumer’s resignation.
“Chuck Schumer should step down as Senate Minority Leader immediately,” Geevarghese said. “If he quietly supported this deal while pretending to oppose it, then he’s dishonest. If he truly couldn’t keep his caucus together, then he’s ineffective. Either way, he’s shown he can’t lead the fight to stop rising health care costs for millions of Americans.”
Eight Democrats joined Republicans in allowing the funding bill to move forward. None of those eight face re-election in 2026, something progressive organizers say is not a coincidence. They argue it appears to have been a calculated move to minimize political backlash from Democratic voters before next year’s midterm elections.
Progressive activists also pointed to the timing of the vote — which came shortly after the recent election — as another sign the deal was coordinated.
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Ezra Levin, co-founder of the progressive movement Indivisible, suggested on social media that Democrats waited until after voters went to the polls to avoid angering their own base.
“There’s a real chance some Democrats who voted against the deal publicly still knew this was the plan,” Levin wrote. “The vote happened after the election so people wouldn’t be furious before they went to the polls.”
Our Revolution had already called on Schumer to resign earlier this year, when he backed a previous bipartisan deal to prevent a government shutdown.