During intense negotiations over the government shutdown, Donald Trump claimed that Republicans had successfully “broken” Chuck Schumer, as the Democratic minority leader now faces increasing calls to step down from a divided party.

Chuck Schumer, 74, who has been at the helm of the Democratic Party since 2017, is under scrutiny after a faction of Democrats, feeling the pressure, collaborated with Republicans to resolve the longest government shutdown in U.S. history.

In an interview with Fox News, Trump commented on the negotiation impasse, stating, “I think he made a mistake in going too far. He thought he could break the Republicans, but the Republicans broke him.”

Trump suggested that Schumer’s influence as a key party figure had diminished, as the prolonged shutdown pushed his party into turmoil.

“I’ve never seen a politician change so much,” Trump remarked. “He was a pretty talented guy. He’s lost his talent.”

The President further accused Schumer of suffering from “Trump derangement syndrome” and claimed that the Democratic Party had been overtaken by “crazed lunatics.”

Schumer’s own party appears fed up with its longtime leader as well. Six House Dems called for the leader to resign after eight members of his Senate caucus broke ranks to end the shutdown.

California Congressman Ro Khanna leads a group of six House members that includes ‘Squad’ member Rashida Tliab and moderate Seth Moulton. 

Khanna said in a statement: ‘Senator Schumer is no longer effective and should be replaced.’

Socialist and former presidential candidate Bernie Sanders stopped short of asking for Schumer’s replacement but called the Democrats ‘pathetic’ and taken over by consultants. 

‘The division that we’re seeing in the Democratic Party right now are those who get a whole lot of money from wealthy campaign contributors, they hire consultants, and I gotta’ tell you, that consultant class is so far removed from reality it is really quite pathetic,’ he said.

Sanders suggested the Democrats listen to himself and radical New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani instead of Schumer. 

Progressive groups MoveOn and Our Revolution have also demanded that Schumer be removed as leader, citing liberal victories in off-year elections last week showing a willingness for the public to wait out the shutdown.

‘Americans showed a growing surge of support for Democrats who fought back – both at the ballot box last week and peacefully in the streets last month. Inexplicably, some Senate Democrats, under Leader Schumer’s watch, decided to surrender,’ said Katie Bethell, MoveOn’s political action executive director

‘It is time for Senator Schumer to step aside.’

While most Democrats have trashed the deal, some liberals have stepped up to back Schumer to continue.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries claimed that ‘the overwhelming majority of Senate Democrats, led by Chuck Schumer, have waged a valiant fight over the last seven weeks, defeating the partisan Republican spending bill 14 or 15 different times, week after week after week.’ 

When asked if Schumer was effective as leader and should keep his job, Jeffries answered: ‘Yes and yes.’ 

MSNBC commentator Rachel Maddow also defended Schumer but with faint praise, suggesting that there were no Democrats who could do any better. 

‘There’s nobody who is stepping up to take that job right now,’ Maddow admitted.

‘There is no more wasted breath at this particular moment in our governing than the question of Chuck Schumer’s future. He has the vote of every Democratic member of the Senate. He will continue to have that,’ added fellow MSNBC anchor Lawrence O’Donnell.  

Schumer, in a speech to the Senate on Monday, said that Democrats succeeded in putting healthcare ‘at the forefront of people’s minds.’

‘The American people will not forget Donald Trump’s cruelty and heartlessness over the past six weeks,’ he added.

Jon Cowan, president of the centrist think tank Third Way, said in an interview that the attacks on Schumer coming from the left will likely subside.

‘Every Democrat and allied interest group is going to end their circular firing squad and aim all of their ammunition at Trump’ and at congressional Republicans who are vulnerable to losing their seats in next year’s elections, he said.

The US Senate voted to end the record-setting government shutdown on Monday night following a deal made by a group of Democrats against leader Chuck Schumer.

The bill will now go to the House, who may return to Washington as soon as Wednesday to vote on the legislation and reopen the government.

The vote passed by a 60-40 tally, achieving the minimum number of votes to pass and avoid the filibuster.   

President Donald Trump has signaled support for the bill, saying Monday that ‘we´re going to be opening up our country very quickly.’ The Daily Mail has reached out to the White House for comment. 

Speaker Mike Johnson urged lawmakers to start returning to Washington ‘right now’ given shutdown-related travel delays, but he said he would issue an official notice for the House’s return once the Senate passes the legislation.

‘We have to do this as quickly as possible,’ Johnson said at a news conference. He has kept the House out of session since mid-September, when the House passed a bill to continue government funding.

The shutdown has left 42 million Americans with no access to their SNAP benefits, forced airlines to cancel thousands of flights and left more than a million federal workers without an income. 

After weeks of negotiations, the moderate Senate Democrats agreed to reopen the government without a guaranteed extension of health care subsidies, angering many in their caucus who have demanded that Republicans negotiate with them on the Affordable Care Act tax credits that expire January 1. 

Thune promised a mid-December vote on the subsidies, but there was no guarantee of success. 

In a possible preview, the Senate voted 47-53 along party lines Monday not to extend the subsidies for a year. Majority Republicans allowed the vote as part of a separate deal with Democrats to speed up votes and send the legislation to the House.

The seven Democrats and one Independent who caucused with the GOP were: Dick Durbin of Illinois, Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada, Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire, Tim Kaine of Virginia, Jacky Rosen of Nevada and Angus King (I) of Maine. 

Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer of New York has voted against moving ahead with the package, along with most of his Democratic colleagues.

The legislation includes a reversal of the mass firings of federal workers by the Trump administration since the shutdown began on October 1. 

It also protects federal workers against further layoffs through January and guarantees they are paid once the shutdown is over.

The moderates had expected a larger number of Democrats to vote with them as 10-12 Democratic senators had been part of the negotiations. 

But in the end, only five switched their votes – the exact number that Republicans needed. King, Cortez Masto and Fetterman had already been voting to open the government since October 1.

It´s unclear whether the two parties would be able to find any common ground on the health care subsidies before a promised December vote in the Senate. 

House Speaker Mike Johnson has said he will not commit to bringing it up in his chamber.

On Monday, Johnson said House Republicans have always been open to voting to reform what he called the ‘unaffordable care act’ but again did not say if they would vote on the subsidies.

Some Republicans have said they are open to extending the COVID-19-era tax credits as premiums could skyrocket for millions of people, but they also want new limits on who can receive the subsidies and argue that the tax dollars for the plans should be routed through individuals.

Other Republicans, including Trump, have used the debate to renew their yearslong criticism of the law and called for it to be scrapped or overhauled.

Democrat leaders had up until this point refused to work with the GOP to reopen government unless they agreed to an extension of subsidies for health plans offered under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). 

As part of the newly agreed upon deal, the ACA will be put to a vote by mid-December. 

Despite holding a majority in Congress, Republicans only have 53 seats in the Senate, falling short of the 60 votes needed to pass a funding bill.

Both parties have been uneasy about the shutdown’s escalating consequences. They are eager to get the government running again before the situation worsens. 

Concerns range from delayed flights and unpaid federal workers to economic strain and suspension of food assistance for vulnerable families.

The crisis reached boiling point last week as 42 million Americans who rely on Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits were informed the money had run dry due to the shutdown for the first time in history.

Already, upwards of 730,000 government employees are working without pay and a further 600,000 have been furloughed as a result of the crisis.

Then, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy warned that staffing shortages as a result of the shutdown are worsening, potentially reducing air travel to a trickle right in time for the holiday season. 

On Sunday alone, more than 2,000 flights were canceled into, out of, or within the United States and a further 7,000 delayed.

The travel chaos will only get worse as airlines are mandated to gradually reduce their schedules further over the next week. 

But the bulk of the Senate Democrats were not on board with the decision to work with Republicans to end the shutdown, and could still introduce procedural hurdles that could delay final passage of the bill. 

However, Schumer emerged from a closed door meeting on Sunday evening after news broke that Republicans had secured the numbers they needed.