Politics
NEW: House Dems Rip Senate Colleagues As Party ‘Civil War’ Escalates Over Private Call
House Democrats are furious after eight Senate Democrats voted with Republicans to end the 42-day government shutdown — the longest in U.S. history — without securing the legislative wishlist items they had been attempting to hold out for. Tensions boiled over in a private call on Monday evening, with one elected Democrat saying, “People are [expletive] pissed,” according to a report from Axios.
A vast majority of the more than a dozen House Democrats venting on a private call had harsh words for the deal, Axios reported Tuesday. The call reflects deep divisions within the party, some of which have been expressed publicly and others privately, after Democrats largely settled for the original deal after forcing essential government workers like air traffic control employees to go without pay.
The Senate bill still needs to be passed by the House before President Donald Trump can sign it, though House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) has expressed confidence that it will be passed on Wednesday.
The deal the eight Democrat senators struck with Republicans included the promise of a Senate vote in December on renewing Affordable Care Act tax credits that expire at year’s end. Democrats had previously negotiated an end to the credits at the end of the year in their own budget legislation in 2022, though an extension had been the top legislative priority of Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and other leading Democrats.
That bill would require 60 votes to pass in the upper chamber, however, leaving Democrats disillusioned with their prospects of securing an extension. This has sparked a fury among both Senate and House Democrats, a number of whom have called on Schumer to step aside as leader.
Rep. Melanie Stansbury (D-NM) said the public is furious with Democrats for caving on the shutdown, telling Axios that, “People are [expletive] pissed.”
Nearly “everyone [was] strongly against” the deal, according to Axios, citing a House Democrat who was on the call but spoke on the condition of anonymity. Roughly half of the lawmakers who spoke on the call directly criticized Schumer, or did so by agreeing with previous speakers who said the same.
Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-WA), former chair of the House Progressive Caucus and member of the far-left “Squad” collective, said Schumer has either lost control of his caucus or “gave his blessing” to the deal despite personally voting against it.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) has also been critical of the agreement and has insinuated that Democrats came up well short in their negotiations. “I don’t think that the House Democratic Caucus is prepared to support a promise, a wing and a prayer, from folks who have been devastating the health care of the American people for years,” he said after the deal was announced on Sunday.
Despite objections, Jeffries has instructed colleagues to stop the infighting and instructed members to keep the focus on healthcare and not on “a few individuals in the Senate,” Axios reported. Rep. Susie Lee (D-NV), the leadership representative for members in battleground districts, echoed Jeffries in instructing conference members to direct their shutdown-related grievances towards the GOP.
Immediately after the Senate deal was announced, senior House Democrats started emailing members instructing them to vote against the Senate-negotiated deal. This is far from a guarantee however, as moderate Rep. Jared Golden (D-ME), who recently announced his retirement, signaled support for the deal.
“Congressman Golden’s position on using a government shutdown as a legislative strategy has been clear and has not changed,” a spokesperson told Axios. A number of additional Democrats may also end up joining Republicans on Wednesday evening, as Rep. Lee said she is currently undecided on the proposal despite agreeing with much of Jeffries’ sentiment on the shutdown fight.
Monday’s call builds on public criticism levied against Schumer and the eight Democrats from left-wing lawmaker’s, pundits and voters alike.
Some elected Democrats even went so far as to call for Minority Leader Schumer to be replaced immediately.
“Senator Schumer is no longer effective and should be replaced. If you can’t lead the fight to stop healthcare premiums from skyrocketing for Americans, what will you fight for?” U.S. Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) posted on X.
