What the Chuck?

As responsibility for funding the government falls on the Senate, Democrats are growing nervous that Chuck Schumer hasn’t offered them much of a strategy, or a viable off-ramp, to navigate what Republicans are already framing as a possible “Schumer shutdown.”

Schumer’s defenders say the leader can’t be heavy-handed, and must consider the demands and concerns of his members as he tries to navigate his caucus through an unprecedented situation with a mercurial president. Photo: Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

Leigh Ann Caldwell

March 13, 2025

Chuck Schumer, the typically jovial Senate Democratic leader, has always prided himself on his vintage flip phone and preternatural ability to remember colleagues’ numbers. Lately, however, Schumer hasn’t been rolling calls with the urgency that his caucus has come to expect. Indeed, as Senate Democrats stare down the barrel of their first consequential vote, I’m told Schumer is as torn and demoralized as the rest of his party.