Progressive Democrats unload on party leadership over government shutdown deal

Several Democrats broke with their party to end the longest government shutdown in U.S. history in a move that sparked backlash from rising progressive stars, including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., who questioned whether the 43-day standoff was worth it.

The revolt within the party exposed the widening gap between Democratic leadership and its left wing, with progressive candidates accusing Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., of handing influence to Republicans and President Donald Trump in exchange for a funding deal that left key health care priorities unresolved.

“We have federal employees across the country who have lost paychecks. We have SNAP recipients, millions of SNAP recipients across the country whose access to food stability has been compromised, and we have to figure out why,” Ocasio-Cortez said, before adding: “We cannot enable this kind of cruelty with our cowardice.”

Back on the campaign trail, several Democrats running in next year’s midterm elections criticized colleagues who voted to reopen the government without extending pandemic-era Obamacare subsidies — the main provision they have pushed for since the shutdown began on Oct. 1.

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Aftin Behn, a Democratic candidate to represent Tennessee’s 7th Congressional District who has been described as “the AOC of TN,” said the end of the shutdown proved “we need a new generation of leadership in Washington” and criticized “career politicians” who surrendered without a guarantee of a vote to support the ACA from House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Los Angeles.

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Saikat Chakrabarty, Ocasio-Cortez’s former chief of staff who is running to replace House Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi in San Francisco’s congressional district, agreed that Democrats who “capitulated” to Trump to reopen the government proved “we need a new generation of leaders in congress.”

Tennessee State Rep. Aftin Behn speaks to audience members before the start of the Democratic Party Forum for candidates running for the special election for the 7th Congressional District at the Fairview Recreation Center in Fairview on Sunday, September 7, 2025. (Alan Poezner – The Tennessee Network/USA Today via Imagn Images)

“After 40 days of holding out, with public opinion and momentum on our side, establishment Democrats have decided to cave to Trump,” Chakrabarti said. “Schumer and the entire Democratic leadership need to step down — and if they run for re-election, we need to prioritize them.”

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Dr. Abdel Sayed, one of several progressive candidates vying for Michigan’s open U.S. Senate seat next year and who “literally wrote the book on Medicare for All,” according to his campaign website, said the health care fight should not end with support for the authority of affordable care.

“It should be bigger. Too many Americans are struggling with medical debt and spiraling costs. It should not be less than Medicare for All,” he said.

El-Sayed said Americans should “spit like crazy about a few Senate Democrats capitulating as health insurance premiums rise for 25 million people.”

As news spread Sunday night that Congress was close to reaching an agreement to reopen the government, New York City Mayor-elect Zahran Mamdani called on Democrats to reject the bill.

“This deal raises health care premiums significantly and only exacerbates the affordability crisis,” Mamdani said. “It must be rejected, as should any policy that wishes to compromise the basic needs of working people.”

Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., speaks at a Zahran Mamdani campaign event in New York City on Saturday, November 1, 2025. Voters in New York turn out early in droves for a mayoral race that has captured the nation’s attention. (Christian Monterrosa/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., who traveled to Queens, New York City, to campaign for Mamdani last month, said this week that reopening the government without health care guarantees proved that Schumer “is no longer effective and must be replaced.”

“If you can’t lead the fight to stop Americans’ rising health care premiums, what are you going to fight for?” Khanna said.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., on Thursday placed the blame at the feet of Republicans, accusing Trump and Republicans of adopting a “my way or the highway” approach in Congress.

“Unless they change course, we will face government challenges for the remainder of the first two years of Donald Trump’s term in office,” Jeffries said on MSNBC’s “Way Too Early.”

Funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) expired on November 1, jeopardizing food access for millions of low-income Americans who depend on the benefit.

senator Bernie Sanders, of Vermont, speaks at the “No to Kings” rally in Washington, D.C., on October 18, 2025. (Fox News Digital/Emma Woodhead)

While Ocasio-Cortez questioned the reason for the shutdown, if not to preserve health care subsidies, Rep. Shomari Figures, D-Alabama, argued Wednesday that health care in Alabama is more than just a “talking point,” citing Alabama’s low life expectancy rates and limited hospitals.

“Protecting health care for us is essential,” he said. “It’s a demand. It’s something we have to do. And if you ask us if the shutdown was worth it, I say, yes, it was worth it. Because in the fight to preserve health care for the American people, there’s nothing more pure than that. There’s no more important role we have here as members of Congress.”

Meanwhile, “Squad” member Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., called the Senate deal “a betrayal of working people and a sham.”

“The public rightly recognizes that Trump and Republicans in Congress are responsible for the longest government shutdown in history,” Omar said in a statement on behalf of the Progressive Caucus.

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Sen. Bernie Sanders of Virginia, a longtime supporter of Medicare for All and universal health care, also criticized Trump on Wednesday for being “willing to see children go hungry to prove a political point.”

“I think what’s important for people to understand is that this problem is bigger than one person, and it’s actually bigger than the Senate minority leader,” Ocasio-Cortez said Wednesday, calling Democrats’ failure to maintain their position on a government shutdown a “reflection of party.”

Fox News’ Tyler Olson and Ryan Schmelz contributed to this report.