Democratic senator calls for 'more effective leadership' as Schumer faces mounting pressure
CONCORD, N.H. — Amid heated calls by some House Democrats and others in the party to remove Sen. Chuck Schumer from his longtime role as Senate Democratic leader, a leading...
By Fox News · Fox News
CONCORD, N.H. — Amid heated calls by some House Democrats and others in the party to remove Sen. Chuck Schumer from his longtime role as Senate Democratic leader, a leading Democrat in the chamber is calling for "more effective leadership." And Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut told Fox News Digital that Schumer needs to lead a conversation to "stop having a group of members cross over and support Donald Trump's agenda." Murphy was interviewed on Wednesday, two days after seven Senate Democrats and independent Sen. Angus King of Maine, who caucuses with the party, bucked Senate Democratic leaders and voted with the majority Republicans to end the longest federal government shutdown in history. Plenty of progressives and center-left Democrats have pilloried the deal to end the shutdown, which didn't include the Democrats' top priority, an agreement to extend expiring subsidies that make health insurance coverage through the Affordable Care Act, known as the ACA or ObamaCare, more affordable to millions of Americans. SCHUMER FACES FURY FROM THE LEFT OVER DEAL TO END SHUTDOWN And even though he opposed the agreement, Schumer, the top Democrat in the chamber, has faced calls from some House Democrats and others in the party to step down due to his inability to keep Senate Democrats unified. But to date, no Senate Democrat has joined those calls for Schumer to step down. Asked if Schumer was still up to the task of steering Senate Democrats, Murphy said, "I think his job is really, really hard. He obviously did not want this outcome. He wanted the caucus to stay together. He was not successful in that endeavor." TRUMP ARGUES SCHUMER MADE A MISTAKE "We've got to have a hard conversation as a caucus about what we all need to do, what kind of leadership we need in order to make sure that we don't continue to break apart," added Murphy, who as Deputy Democratic Conference Secretary is a member of the party's leadership in the chamber. And he noted that "this is the fourth ma…