'Incandescent' anger at Schumer a distraction from fighting DOGE: Begala

The “incandescent” anger directed at Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) from the members of his party is, in part, a distraction from fighting against the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and its effort to overhaul the federal government, according to CNN political contributor Paul Begala.
Begala, an adviser to former President Clinton, said he has “never seen the party this angry at its leader, Senator Schumer.”
“It’s incandescent. It’s hard for me to describe. They’re furious. And here’s why. He had something very valuable. He had voted to pass the continuing resolution that Republicans could not do without them. And he traded them away for nothing,” the veteran consultant said during his Monday appearance on CNN’s “The Lead.”
Schumer, the Democrats’ longtime leader in the Senate, is facing pushback over his vote to help advance a House-crafted continuing resolution that ended up being adopted last week. The New York senator’s decision is being questioned by some of his Democratic colleagues in the chamber.
Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), who has advocated for loudly opposing Trump’s agenda, told The Hill that Democrats in the upper chamber are risking ending up “irrelevant if we don’t use our power on cloture to demand that we have a seat at the table,” adding that “we obviously have to make sure that we aren’t cut out of negotiations in the future.”
Begala said that he and “most” Democrats do not want a government shutdown, but argued the party caved “without a compromise.”
“I want the government to stay open. Most Democrats do. The funding level is actually not all that bad. There was some terrible stuff they added to it. But when I came to them a month ago, seriously, this was strategic as well as tactical,” Begala said Monday. “Tactical was bad to cave without a compromise. Strategically, he should have come to his party a month ago and said, here are our principles.”
The political commentator said the Democrats in the Senate could have worked more to draw out concessions from GOP lawmakers, but the spotlight should be aimed at the DOGE, the Musk-led advisory board whose staffers have gained access to several government agencies as part of the administration’s push to downsize the scope of the government workforce, cut spending and reduced waste.
Begala said that, for him, such action would've been a "crackdown" on the people "working for Mr. Musk in destroying our Constitution."
Topics
-
Schumer in toughest fight of Senate leadership career
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (N.Y.) is facing the toughest fight of his Senate leadership career amid sharp attacks from his party’s base over his vote to advance a House ...The Hill - 10h -
Schumer: Democrats have 'a real direction now'
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), who has been the target of scathing criticism from members of his own party after voting for a Republican-drafted stopgap spending bill that cut ...The Hill - 1d -
Democratic anger over 'Schumer surrender' shows party's deep divisions on how to take on Trump
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer finds himself sharply at odds with many members of his caucus, fellow Democrats in the House and liberal activists.NBC News - 4d -
Van Jones on Democrats' 'volcanic anger' with Schumer: 'We need alpha energy'
CNN political commentator Van Jones weighed in on the “volcanic anger” Democrats have with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) after he voted to advance the GOP-backed spending bill, ...The Hill - 3d -
Takeaways From The Times Interview With Chuck Schumer About the Federal Spending Bill
The day after angering many Democrats’ by backing a Republican spending bill, Schumer argued that he can still lead his party in the Senate, even amid furious backlash.The New York Times - 2d -
Schumer postpones book events due to 'security concerns' amid Democratic backlash over shutdown fight
NBC News Senior National Political Reporter Sahil Kapur joins Meet the Press NOW with the latest animosity between Democrats and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) as the party fights ...NBC News - 23h -
Grassroots Democratic group calls for Schumer to resign as minority leader
Pass the Torch, a grassroots Democratic group that called for former President Biden to step out of the 2024 presidential race, is now calling for Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) to resign as minority ...The Hill - 4d -
Chuck Schumer postpones book events due to 'security concerns' amid Democratic backlash over shutdown fight
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer is postponing several events across the country this week to promote his new book amid Democratic backlash to his handling of last week's government funding fight.NBC News - 1d -
‘Absolutely Ridiculous’: Democrats Seethe at Schumer for Backing G.O.P. Spending Bill
Senator Chuck Schumer, the minority leader, continued to face criticism from members of his own party after he reversed course and allowed the stopgap spending bill to come to a vote.The New York Times - 1d
More from The Hill
-
Chinese state media welcomes Trump's cuts to Voice of America
Chinese state media is applauding President Trump's decision over the weekend to shutter the government agency that oversees Voice of America. "The so-called beacon of freedom, VOA, has now been ...The Hill - 35m -
Treasury to cut IRS taxpayer advocate staff
The Trump administration is intending to make cuts to the office of the National Taxpayer Advocate (NTA) — its third announced staffing reduction at the Internal Revenue Service that comes amid a ...The Hill - 43m -
For the left’s Ukraine hawks, the real war is against Trump
The liberal left has shifted from opposing muscular policies toward Russia to advocating for a robust Cold War, despite a history of opposing it and giving Russia excuses.The Hill - 45m -
Appeals court partially overturns Ohio ban on transgender care for minors
An Ohio appeals court declared Tuesday that a portion of a 2023 law banning gender-affirming medical care for minors is unconstitutional, ruling that a lower court erred in deciding the law does ...The Hill - 48m -
5 takeaways from Trump-Putin call on Ukraine ceasefire
President Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin held a highly anticipated phone call on Tuesday, after Ukraine last week agreed to a U.S.-proposed 30-day ceasefire in war. Putin rejected that ...The Hill - 49m
More in Politics
-
Chinese state media welcomes Trump's cuts to Voice of America
Chinese state media is applauding President Trump's decision over the weekend to shutter the government agency that oversees Voice of America. "The so-called beacon of freedom, VOA, has now been ...The Hill - 35m -
Treasury to cut IRS taxpayer advocate staff
The Trump administration is intending to make cuts to the office of the National Taxpayer Advocate (NTA) — its third announced staffing reduction at the Internal Revenue Service that comes amid a ...The Hill - 43m -
For the left’s Ukraine hawks, the real war is against Trump
The liberal left has shifted from opposing muscular policies toward Russia to advocating for a robust Cold War, despite a history of opposing it and giving Russia excuses.The Hill - 45m -
Appeals court partially overturns Ohio ban on transgender care for minors
An Ohio appeals court declared Tuesday that a portion of a 2023 law banning gender-affirming medical care for minors is unconstitutional, ruling that a lower court erred in deciding the law does ...The Hill - 48m -
5 takeaways from Trump-Putin call on Ukraine ceasefire
President Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin held a highly anticipated phone call on Tuesday, after Ukraine last week agreed to a U.S.-proposed 30-day ceasefire in war. Putin rejected that ...The Hill - 49m