When even the liberal media is slamming Democrats, you know they’re really in trouble. And Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer is between a rock and a hard spot.
The Washington Post Editorial Board – a very left-leaning group – published a scathing opinion editorial on Wednesday, titled, “Democrats marched into a shutdown trap: Progressive Democrats, like the Freedom Caucus, are urging their party in a dangerous direction.”
The op-ed reveals that Schumer is not really the one calling the shots on the Democrat side – he is marching to the orders of the far-left Congressional Progressive Caucus – who also make up the radical ‘Squad’ group.
Schumer had reportedly presented a plan to progressives that would have kept the government open for seven to 10 days while party leaders negotiated a longer-term resolution. But Rep. Greg Casar (D-Texas), chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, told him, “Hell no.”
The Washington Post wrote:
Similarly unyielding reactions from other members forced Schumer to abandon the idea.
Thus the Democratic Party shut off any potential escape valve to avoid a shutdown, which began at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday. In doing so, progressives embraced the same disastrous mentality that led the House Freedom Caucus to believe it could come out ahead in previous government funding standoffs: They wrongly assumed their political leverage would withstand the ensuing fallout.
Left-wing Democrats, like the Freedom Caucus before them, enter this shutdown in a position of weakness. President Donald Trump and his budget director, Russell Vought, now have extraordinary authority to choose which agencies to close, what spending to prioritize and even which government workers to lay off. As Trump warned on Tuesday, “We can do things during the shutdown that are irreversible.”
Expect him to follow through in a way that maximizes pain for Democrats, who will probably face pressure from their allies in government labor unions after employees are fired and others are forced to work without pay. While congressional Democrats have so far put up a mostly unified front, coalescing around a demand to extend Affordable Care Act subsidies that expire at the end of the year, there’s no guarantee the party’s resolve will last.
“The most likely outcome is that Democrats will come to regret having walked into a trap,” the Post wrote.
Vice President JD Vance explained Wednesday that Schumer is bowing to progressives, because he’s terrified that Democrat Socialist Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is going to launch a primary campaign against him and run for his Senate seat.
Somebody check on Chuck Schumer.
Vice President JD Vance just put him on blast in front of the entire nation saying he’s terrified of a primary challenge from AOC:
“The reality here, and let’s be honest about the politics, is that Chuck Schumer is terrified he’s going to get… pic.twitter.com/jRkiI22zSW
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) October 1, 2025
Progressive Democrats, like the Freedom Caucus, are urging their party in a dangerous direction, the Editorial Board writes. https://t.co/suk0yqqrbS
— Washington Post Opinions (@PostOpinions) October 1, 2025
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