GOP blames Schumer for shutdown to appease ‘Marxist flank’ amid AOC primary challenge buzz

**Republicans Blame Chuck Schumer for Government Shutdown Amid Rising Progressive Influence**

Republicans have relentlessly blamed Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., for the ongoing government shutdown, accusing him of catering to the Democratic Party’s progressive wing. This comes as Zohran Mamdani maintains his lead in New York City’s mayoral race and rumors swirl about Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s (AOC) political ambitions.

As the government shutdown drags into its second week, the political blame game intensified on Wednesday. Republicans continue to denounce what they call “Schumer’s shutdown,” while Schumer points fingers at President Donald Trump and Republicans for causing the stalemate.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., told reporters, “This shutdown is nothing more than political cover for Chuck Schumer and the Democrats. They are worried about the Marxist flank in the Democrat Party. The Marxists are about to elect a mayor in New York City. That’s Chuck Schumer’s state, and he’s terrified that he’s going to get a challenge from his far left.”

### Ocasio-Cortez’s Ambitions and Schumer’s Position

Axios reported last month that Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is preparing to run either for Schumer’s Senate seat or for president in 2028. Republicans claim that Schumer has set a firm red line during the continuing resolution (CR) negotiations to appease his party’s progressive wing.

A continuing resolution (CR) is an extension of current federal funding levels designed to provide lawmakers more time to reach a long-term deal on the next fiscal year’s government spending.

### The Continuing Resolution Stalemate

While the House has passed a Republican-backed CR, the bill has stalled in the Senate, failing multiple times as Democrats insist on pairing any CR with an extension of enhanced Obamacare subsidies set to expire at the end of 2025.

Republicans accuse Democrats of holding Americans and the government hostage over partisan demands. Meanwhile, Democrats warn that Republicans will be responsible for hiking healthcare costs for millions if these COVID-era subsidies expire.

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., said, “Real lives of real people are being disrupted so that Chuck Schumer can show the far-left Marxists in his party that he’s having some kind of tantrum and fighting Donald Trump because he’s afraid of the far-left part of his political base.”

Johnson added, “Schumer is a very far-left politician, but he isn’t far enough left for the communists.”

### Progressive Split in the Democratic Party Exposed

Schumer, along with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., has refused to endorse Zohran Mamdani, the self-described Democratic socialist who stunned the political establishment by securing the Democratic nomination for New York City mayor in June.

Mamdani’s unexpected success has exposed an ideological and generational divide within the Democratic Party, following devastating losses across the board in 2024.

Republicans have seized on Mamdani’s rise as evidence of the party’s far-left shift. Former President Donald Trump labeled Mamdani a “100% Communist Lunatic” and more recently, “My little communist.”

If elected next month, Mamdani, who has secured endorsements from progressive champions such as Ocasio-Cortez and Senator Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., plans to raise taxes on corporations and the top one percent of New York City voters. His campaign promises include free buses, rent freezes, and city-run grocery stores.

### Mamdani’s Response and GOP Accusations

Mamdani responded to the shutdown by blaming Republicans and Trump, stating they “shut down the government because they’re determined to strip healthcare from millions of Americans, to enrich the billionaires they serve, to continue the assault on our rights.”

Though Republicans have targeted Schumer as the face of the shutdown, Schumer himself previously faced backlash from within his party. He voted in favor of the GOP-backed CR in March to avoid a government shutdown, a decision AOC called a “tremendous mistake.”

Last week, Rep. Mark Alford, R-Mo., blamed Schumer for the shutdown, saying it was “because he’s scared of a primary challenge from AOC and a challenge to his position in Senate leadership.”

Rep. August Pfluger, R-Texas, echoed the sentiment: “Chuck Schumer has chosen to cower to the radical side of the Democratic Party instead of coming to the table with a solution.”

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As the shutdown continues, the tension between the Democratic Party’s progressive and moderate wings deepens, influencing negotiations and political strategies on both sides of the aisle.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/gop-blames-schumer-shutdown-appease-marxist-flank-amid-aoc-primary-challenge-buzz