Axios Hill Leaders

March 14, 2025
We've got news. 704 words, 2.5 minutes.
- π₯ Schumer stiffs Resistance
- βWho said it βGOP vs. Dems
- π Charted: Johnson's discharge petitioners
1 big thing: π₯ Schumer stiffs Resistance

The Resistance just swung and missed against Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer.
Why it matters: House Democrats, party activists, the online left and even some Senate Democrats spent the last two days arguing their best option was to shut down the government.
- β But Schumer ignored them and got eight other Senate Democrats and independent Angus King, who caucuses with them, to join him. The government will stay open, depriving President Trump of his chance to spend months talking up the "Schumer Shutdown."
- π« "I'll take some of the bullets," Schumer told the New York Times today.
Zoom in: Democrats made a bad bet that House Speaker Mike Johnson would be unable to pass a GOP-only bill. When that bet missed, Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries were split apart.
- For weeks, Schumer chose not to go public with his concerns that a shutdown was a bad idea. His Senate Dems wanted strong leadership, but he kept his warnings private.
House Dems either didn't hear Schumer's private pleas or flat-out ignored them.
- π They voted in near-unison for a shutdown, praying the GOP would splinter like it had so many times before.
- But Johnson held the line, keeping every Republican but Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky and getting a Democratic vote from Rep. Jared Golden of Maine.
That forced Dems to pivot fast: Jeffries and House Dems embraced the risk of shutdown and offered to come back to D.C. to vote on a 30-day stopgap. They said it was preferable compared to giving Trump longer-term funding.
- Schumer focused on squeezing leverage for amendment votes, which he ended up getting, plus a vote to fix the funding cut to D.C.'s budget that was in the House bill.
π«’ Asked at a press conference today if it's time for new leadership in the Senate, Jeffries quickly responded, "Next question."
- Asked if he has lost confidence in Schumer, Jeffries again replied: "Next question."
- Pressed further, Jeffries said he looks "forward to reporting back to all of you when I've had conversations" in his district over the weekend.
Go deeper: Inside House Dems' furious anti-Schumer movement
β Justin Green
2. βWho said itβHouse GOP vs. House Dems

The spicy quotes from House Democrats since last night sound a bit like what we've gotten used to from House Republicans over the last 10 years.
Why it matters: Former Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell was a frequent target of attacks from his own party, just like Schumer's been feeling this week.
See if you can spot the party ID of the person behind each of the quotes below. (Answers at the bottom of the newsletter).
- "[McConnell/Schumer] is supposed to be the leader of the opposition, not a rank-and-file member of the [other party]."
- "I'm looking at [McConnell/Schumer] when I say this: DO YOUR JOB, Leader. ... Do your job and follow the wishes of the American people."
- McConnell/Schumer "should only agree to a short-term CR β¦ to allow β¦ the House to make the appropriations bills next year."
- "Defeat the budget bill in US Senate and shut this government down!!!"
- "A lot of people are frustrated with his comments. I'm not going to sugarcoat it."
- "I get the emotional satisfaction of slamming the Senate. But it's actually not very helpful to that body for us to do it, and I don't think we should."
- "This false choice that some are buying instead of fighting is unacceptable."
- "I think it is a huge slap in the face, and I think that there's a wide sense of betrayal."
βΒ Hans Nichols
3. π Charted: Johnson's discharge petitioners
Go deeper:
This newsletter was edited by Justin Green and copy edited by Kathie Bozanich.
Answer key for Item No. 2:
1. Rep. Mark Takano (D-Calif.) on Schumer. 2. Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) on McConnell. 3. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) on McConnell. 4. Rep. Shri Thanedar (D-Mich.) on CR. 5. Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.) on McConnell. 6. Rep. Tom MacArthur (R-N.J.) on Senate dysfunction in 2017. 7. Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) on CR. 8. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) on Schumer.
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