Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) appears to have used the shutdown as a political stunt to shore up his standing with the far-left base—an attempt to fend off a potential primary challenge from Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY).
And yet, because Democrats ultimately folded, Schumer is now taking the heat for that surrender from the very left-wing activists he was trying to appease. They’re even angrier with him than before the shutdown. His “no” vote on the deal hasn’t convinced them he wasn’t part of the capitulation—they simply don’t believe him.
Now AOC is jumping into the fray too — a clear sign that Schumer and a number of other Democrats should brace themselves for serious primary challenges from the activist left:
New — Asked AOC about Chuck Schumer’s handling of shutdown. (He voted NO on bill)
“We are talking about a coordinated effort of eight senators with the knowledge of Leader Schumer, voting to break with the entire Democratic Party in exchange for nothing,” she told me pic.twitter.com/fzDkMGMfzy
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) November 12, 2025
“We are talking about a coordinated effort of eight senators with the knowledge of Leader Schumer, voting to break with the entire Democratic Party in exchange for nothing,” she told CNN’s Manu Raju.
Then she added: “And now people’s health care costs are going to be skyrocketing …. But I think that when we talk about this debate about the Democratic Party, it is, indeed, about the party writ large and our ability to fight or not.”
That said, that’s pure nonsense. It wasn’t the clean continuing resolution that ended the ACA COVID subsidies — Democrats themselves set those subsidies to expire at the end of the year. The entire Obamacare mess is on them, no matter how loudly they try to shift the blame.
And if that wasn’t clear enough, AOC spelled it out. When Raju asked directly whether Schumer should remain minority leader, she dodged — saying the issue was “broader” and strongly suggesting that Democrats across the board should be primaried.
“This problem is bigger than one person,” she contended.
Yikes.
?They asked AOC if she still wants to get rid of Chuck Schumer.
"Should Chuck Schumer stay as minority leader?"
Her answer suggests she wants to take down MORE than just Chuck Schumer.
"This problem is bigger than one person…" pic.twitter.com/VcSZPeNxza
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) November 12, 2025
She noted that among the eight Democrats who broke ranks, some are retiring and others won’t face voters for several cycles — clearly hoping, she said, that “people will forget this moment.” And while New York doesn’t have a Senate race this year, she reminded reporters that other states do — and she urged voters to show up in those primaries and hold their senators accountable.
AOC said the problem wasn’t just one senator — it was the entire Democratic Party. And on that point, she’s right.
Democrats tried to play political games and hold the American people hostage, and now their own far-left base is furious that they didn’t keep the pressure on, no matter who got hurt or how much damage it caused the country. The irony is rich: the same Democrats who manufactured the crisis are now being targeted by the extremists they were trying so hard to appease.
If there’s any silver lining, it’s that their internal meltdown puts their extremism on full display. Let them tear each other apart — maybe then more Americans will finally see just how unhinged these positions really are.
