Spineless Senate Democrats Schumer, Schatz, & Booker betray America

Senator Cory Booker is inciting a critic who may challenge him for the 2026 nomination by supporting 'spineless leadership' instead of chiefs who will shed the Democratic Party's image of weakness, cowardice, and corruption.

"In a stunning act of capitulation, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, Senator Brian Schatz, and a cadre of weak-willed Democrats joined Republicans to avert a government shutdown—handing Donald Trump yet another unchecked victory in his relentless assault on American democracy," said anti-establishment progressive firebrand Lisa McCormick. "Instead of ousting the leadership, Cory Booker wants to maintain the same spineless leadership that allowed Trump to avoid prison, return to power, and destroy both the federal government and the global alliances that have kept America and the world safe since the end of World War II."

Senator Cory Booker will support Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) in his yet-to-be-announced bid to become the next Senate Democratic whip, succeeding Senator Dick Durbin (D-Illinois) in Democratic caucus’s #2 role when the Illinois lawmaker retires.

Booker told Punchbowl News, “I know [Schatz] has been talking to and listening to our colleagues for the last couple of days. I think those calls are going well. Brian regularly does excellent work in service of our caucus and from what I am hearing, he has already earned a lot of support for this position.”

Durbin announced he won't seek a sixth term, so the slot won’t open up until after the 2026 election, but prospective contenders will spend the next year and a half campaigning among Democratic senators for their support.

The betrayal was swift, decisive, and unforgivable, leaving progressive activists and disillusioned voters to wonder: When will the Democratic Party find the courage to fight?

The measure, passed by a narrow margin of 54 to 46, was a Republican-authored stopgap spending bill that funds the government through September 30—effectively greenlighting Trump’s agenda without meaningful resistance.

But the true disgrace came earlier, when Schumer and ten members of his caucus, including Schatz, broke ranks to crush a Democratic filibuster and allow the bill to proceed.

Their justification? Fear. Fear of a shutdown. Fear of Trump’s retaliation. Fear of standing firm when the nation needed them most.

Dozens of Senate Democrats came out against the GOP’s bill to avert a shutdown, and many of them claimed that they pressured their colleagues not to fold ahead of the procedural vote.

Eight Democrats were needed to vote to end debate to advance the House-passed bill, and Schumer was joined by Schatz, Durbin, as well as Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-N.M.), John Fetterman (D-Pa.), Angus King (I-Maine), Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.), Gary Peters (D-Mich.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) and Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.).

Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi released a blistering statement calling on Democrats to “not buy into this false choice” and to “fight back for a better way.”

Pelosi pointed to opposition from Sen. Patty Murray and Rep. Rose DeLauro, the top Democrats on congressional appropriations committees, in urging Schumer to “listen to the women.”

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) called Schumer’s support for the six-month CR a “huge slap in the face” to House Democrats who “stuck their neck out” in opposition.

Lisa McCormick, the fiery anti-establishment progressive who stunned the political establishment with her challenge to disgraced former New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez in 2018, minced no words in her condemnation.

“If Cory Booker is going to support Chuck Schumer and Brian Schatz after they betrayed America, then the New Jersey Senator must be fired and replaced with a leader who dares to stand up against Donald Trump’s tyranny,” McCormick declared.

Schatz, in a feeble attempt to justify his vote, claimed he was “protecting people in Hawai‘i” from mass furloughs. But McCormick was unmoved.

“A flawed bill was better than no bill at all?” she scoffed. “No. A temporary shutdown would have been a small price to pay to stop the destruction of our institutions and put the Trump Republicans in the spotlight for being incompetent. Instead, Schatz and Schumer chose to let Trump win—again.”

Liberal grassroots groups have called on Schumer to resign.

The group Pass the Torch, which called for President Biden to drop out of the presidential race, said Schumer “is unwilling and unable to meet the moment” and must resign.

Nearly a dozen protesters with the progressive Sunrise Movement were arrested outside of Schumer’s office on the Friday after his vote.

This is not an isolated failure. It is the latest in a long line of Democratic cowardice that has allowed Trump to outmaneuver justice at every turn.

Despite four criminal cases, including charges related to election subversion and the unlawful retention of classified documents, Trump not only escaped accountability—he won reelection. The greatest failure of federal law enforcement in American history was compounded by the greatest failure of Democratic leadership.

"Where was the party’s spine when it mattered? Where was the unyielding opposition to Trump’s authoritarian power grabs? Instead of restoring the bold tax policies of the Eisenhower and Kennedy eras—when the wealthy paid their fair share and the economy thrived—today’s Democrats have allowed Reaganomics to fester, widening inequality and gutting the working class. Instead of reversing the disastrous deregulation that led to the Great Recession, they’ve grown comfortable collecting checks from the same billionaires who profit from America’s decline," said McCormick.

McCormick’s message is clear: the time for polite reform is over. The Democratic Party needs a revolution.

“Chuck Schumer must be fired," said McCormick. "Any Democrat who refuses to remove him or helps sustain his spineless style is complicit in Trump’s destruction of our democracy.”

The question now is whether voters will heed her call. Will they continue to tolerate a party that folds under pressure, or will they demand leaders who fight? The stakes could not be higher. If Democrats cannot stand united against tyranny now, they will not save democracy later.

The betrayal is complete. The reckoning is coming. And if Cory Booker and his colleagues do not change course, they will be swept aside by the very people they failed to protect.

"Any Democrat who fails to take action against this ineffective leadership is aiding in Trump’s assault on our democracy," said McCormick.