Schumer lends Jeffries a hand in bid to oust N.Y. GOPers

• Schumer's two-week New York offensive is another sign the two Democratic leaders are working to patch up a relationship that publicly frayed this year.
• In numerous Republican-held swing districts, Schumer zeroed in on the GOP's budget reconciliation plans, focusing most intensely on proposed cuts to Medicaid.

Driving the news: Schumer visited a hospital in a district represented by Rep. Mike Lawler, a nursing home in Rep. Nick Langworthy's district and a Veterans Affairs field office in a county represented by Rep. Claudia Tenney.

• The tour is part of Democrats' strategy to bring the fight directly to Republicans' doorsteps ahead of the 2026 midterms.
• Standing in a local business in GOP Rep. Nick LaLota's Long Island district Thursday, Schumer argued Trump's tariffs are suffocating small businesses in the state.
• "No matter what your vantage ... the tariffs are one giant mess," he said.

Zoom out: Schumer's focus also reflects the reality that the House — where Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) has a razor-thin majority — represents Democrats' best chance to tank the GOP's reconciliation effort.

• Twelve House Republicans, including three New Yorkers, sent a letter to Johnson this month saying they wouldn't vote for a budget reconciliation package that includes cuts to Medicaid.
• Schumer and other Democrats hope that by forcing Republicans to defend cuts to popular programs like Medicaid, they'll secure enough moderate defectors to scuttle the GOP plans.
• That would deprive their opponents of a major campaign promise — extending President Trump's first-term tax cuts — just in time for the midterms.