Schumer Again Faces Outrage From the Left

Senate Democrats failed to get Republicans to commit to extending health care subsidies before voting to end the shutdown. As a result, progressive groups such as Our Revolution are calling for Chuck Schumer to step down as the party's Senate leader, reports Reuters. It's the second time this year Schumer has angered the left, and now a big question in DC is whether his job as minority leader is safe. The gist from coverage? Schumer will survive the storm. Details:

• "Despite the uproar from the left, Schumer's job is safe," declares an analysis at the plugged-in Punchbowl News. Schumer had a near-impossible path to navigate and was bound to take heat no matter how it unfolded. "There's no real appetite to oust Schumer, though. Nor is there any interest from another Democrat to challenge him, according to interviews with more than a dozen Democratic senators."
• The Hill seconds that, noting that the most heated criticism of Schumer is coming from outside the Senate. "A number of Democratic caucus members said that while they remain upset with how the shutdown turned out, they don't agree that Schumer deserves the blame for it."

• A report at Axios says Schumer knew moderates within his own party wanted to broker a deal with Republicans almost from the start. "We let him know what we were doing," said Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, one of them. Schumer, however, convinced them to wait until at least the start of November, the start of ObamaCare open enrollment. He sees that as a partial victory, a way to raise pressure on Republicans going forward.
• Still, progressives see the vote as caving to Republicans, with Schumer bearing the most responsibility. But Punchbowl News faults the left for a "major misread" to think that Republicans would ever agree to their demands. A Vox analysis has a similar take: The "reality is that Democrats never had a plausible strategy to get what they said they wanted," writes Andrew Prokop. The "ultimatum strategy is a terrible way for a minority party to achieve its goals in Congress. The majority has powerful incentives not to give in to hostage-taking like this, since if they do, more hostages will surely be taken in the future."