Inside House Democrats' anti-Schumer vent sessions
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Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer at President Trump's address to a joint session of Congress on March 4. Photo: Win McNamee/Pool/AFP via Getty Images
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) may have thrown his support behind Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), but many House Democrats are still privately fuming at the Senate leader.
Why it matters: Some House members are urging Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) behind closed doors to mount a primary bid against the New York senator in 2028.
- "From the threads I am on, [people are] pissed off ... and not just the typical lefties," one House Democrat told Axios on the condition of anonymity to share details of members' private communications.
- A senior House Democrat said of their colleagues' mood toward Schumer: "His popularity is hovering somewhere between Elon Musk and the Ebola virus."
- A third House Democrat who represents a swing district, when asked about Schumer, responded sarcastically: "Who?"
State of play: Schumer invited the lower chamber's wrath last week by supporting a Republican stopgap spending bill that virtually all House Democrats had voted against.
- Many Democrats in both chambers wanted to use the measure — and the threat of a government shutdown — to force limitations on DOGE's ability to lay off federal workers and cut whole programs and agencies.
- But Schumer argued that such a plan would ultimately backfire by empowering President Trump's downsizing efforts.
- Jeffries, after initially dodging questions about Schumer, spoke with his Senate counterpart on Sunday and said Tuesday he supports his fellow New Yorker continuing as Senate leader.
What we're hearing: Rank-and-file House Democrats' anger toward Schumer has continued to simmer and spill over into their internal discussions this week, according to more than half a dozen House Democrats.
- The first House Democrat told Axios that people are "mainly venting" but also "talking a big game about supporting AOC" in a possible primary challenge.
- A fourth House Democrat who spoke on the condition of anonymity described their colleagues' feelings toward Schumer as "big mad."
Zoom in: Schumer is under siege from Democrats' liberal grassroots, postponing stops on his book tour that groups like the Progressive Change Campaign Committee had planned to protest.
- Indivisible, another liberal group, has publicly called on Schumer to step down as Senate Democratic leader.
- Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas) said in a CNN interview that Senate Democrats should "sit down and take a look and decide whether or not Chuck Schumer is the one to lead in this moment."
Yes, but: Grassroots anger toward Schumer could easily dissipate before he is up for reelection in 2028, and he likely isn't in any immediate danger of being ousted as Senate leader.
- The inter-chamber conflict also "doesn't ruin our going into Republican districts to hold town halls," the first House Democrat told Axios.
- Rep. Mark Pocan (D-Wis.) argued that frustration toward Schumer is "a bit of an inside-the-beltway conversation" and that constituents "actually told me they understood Schumer's argument."
- House Democrats are "for sure" miffed at the Senate leader, Pocan told Axios, but voters are "pissed at Trump and Musk ... not really Schumer."
What to watch: Jeffries and Schumer are trying to move past the government funding fiasco, turning their attention toward potential Medicaid cuts in Republicans' reconciliation bill.
- The two released a joint statement on the topic Tuesday morning vowing to "fight to oppose the largest Medicaid cut in American history."
- The Democratic Policy and Communications Committee — Jeffries' messaging arm — sent guidance to members advising them to hold "Medicaid Day of Action" events in their district on Tuesday.
