Schumer Leads Party in Conflict After Retreat on Shutdown

Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer’s calculated call to avoid a disruptive government shutdown alienates a political base enraged by President Donald Trump’s policies and frustrated at party elders’ cautious response.

The decision by the 74-year-old New Yorker to drop his threat to block a Republican spending bill touched off fury from party activists and drew rebukes from stalwarts like Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senator Patty Murray, the chamber’s longest-serving Democrat. House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries, a fellow New Yorker, refused to even entertain a question on Schumer’s political future.