Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) is increasingly drawing heat from both sides of the aisle for his refusal to back a clean continuing resolution bill to keep the government funded into November.<\/p>\n
Schumer, who in the past has opposed shutdowns, is being waylaid by Republicans as expected, but also from some Democratic circles and members of the media who are usually deferential to his party.<\/p>\n
Three Senate Democrats joined most Republicans late Tuesday to support the stopgap funding measure, for instance.<\/p>\n
That said, it\u2019s not clear yet who will be \u201cblamed\u201d for allowing the partial shutdown, which took effect at midnight Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Many of the Democratic Party\u2019s left-wing faction were apoplectic at Schumer for providing Democratic votes in March to keep the government funded. So this time, Schumer is placating them, but that has led Republicans to label the current impasse the \u201cSchumer Shutdown\u201d \u2014 which\u00a0appears to be catching on<\/a>. And if it sticks, that will hurt his party more in the long run.<\/p>\n Still, Schumer may be more concerned about his own political future. There have been strong rumors that one of the House\u2019s most left-leaning members, New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, is eying a primary challenge against him in 2028.<\/p>\n And since the far left was the most upset about his decision in March to help Republicans keep the government open, his move now to allow it to shut down now is being viewed through the lens of political survival, regardless of what it does to the country or to his party.<\/p>\n