Media figures tear into Democrats, accuse party of caving on shutdown vote
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Liberal media figures are calling out the Democratic Party after eight senators voted with the GOP on a plan to reopen the government, accusing the party of caving in as it tries to end the longest shutdown in history.
Former CNN host Don Lemon, “The View” co-hosts Sunny Hostin and Whoopi Goldberg, former CNN journalist Chris Cillizza and more were among the media members who chided members of the Democratic caucus who voted Sunday to advance a plan to reopen the government.
Sens. Angus King, I-Maine, John Fetterman, D-Pa., Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., Jeanne Shaheen, DN.H., Maggie Hassan, DN.H., Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., Tim Kaine, D-Va. and the Senate’s number two Democrat, Dick Durbin, D-Ill., broke away from other Democrats on the funding vote. King is an independent who caucuses with Democrats.
Lemon posted on TikTok and said Democrats were “caving in.”
Whoopi Goldberg, Sunny Hostin and Don Lemon. (Cindy Ord/Getty Images for Tribeca Festival; Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images for Tribeca Festival; Arturo Holmes/Getty Images)
DEMOCRATIC SENATOR STANDS DETERMINED AFTER CHALLENGING THE PARTY, SAYING IT’S ‘TIME TO REOPEN THE GOVERNMENT’
“Eight Senate Democrats threw in the towel by siding with the GOP to advance a vote that could lead to reopening the government,” Goldberg said during “The View” on Monday.
Others specifically targeted the Senate minority leader, Sen. Chuck Schumer (DY).
“Shame on you the first time. You do it twice, three times, four times, shame on me. Shame on the Democrats for even believing that Republicans would vote for this,” Hostin said.
AS PRESSURE INCREASED, SENATE DEMOCRATS CAME OUT OF THE RECORD-BREAKING SHUTDOWN.
“The bottom line is that Democrats said to the American people after the blue wave, ‘We want it.’ [an] opposition.” Labor wants the Democratic Party to fight for them. And now they’ve caved in and surrendered. I think Chuck Schumer’s days are over. And if he can’t keep his group together, he needs to go. He needs to be replaced,” he added.
Dean Obeidallah, a left-leaning radio host, said Schumer was “done” during an appearance on MSNBC on Sunday.
“He’s not the right person at the right time. We’re going to a different time. You’re dealing with a GOP that is an anti-democratic movement. They don’t care what the American people think about an issue like this. So honestly, I think this is the end of Chuck Schumer as we move forward,” Obeidallah said.
U.S. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) walks to speak at a press conference following the weekly Senate Democratic policy luncheon at the U.S. Capitol on June 17, 2025 in Washington, D.C. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
SENATE VOTE TO END GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN SIGNS DEMOCRATIC CIVIL WAR
Former MSNBC host Mehdi Hasan, who founded Zeteo, also was called Schumer will resign with his post on social media.
Some Democratic lawmakers also called for Schumer to resign.
“Senator Schumer is no longer effective and needs to be replaced. If you can’t lead the fight to stop Americans’ health care premiums from skyrocketing, what will you fight for?” Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., said in a social media post Sunday.
Rep. Seth Moulton, D-Mass., also said in a post that the vote was “yet another example of why we need new leadership.”
Rep. Ro Khanna, California, speaks at a campaign event for Zohran Mamdani on Saturday, Nov. 1, 2025, in New York City. (Christian Monterrosa/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
THE SHUTDOWN STARTED THE DEBATE FOR STRATEGISTS: WILL TRUMP AND THE GOP PAY THE POLITICAL PRICE IN 2026?
In a post on Substack, Cillizza said he was “stunned” by senators’ decision to move forward with a plan to end the shutdown. In his headline, Cillizza called the move is “completely surprising”.
“So the plan and the deal that the Democrats agreed to is literally the same deal that Republican Senate Majority Leader John Thune has had on the table for at least two and a half, three weeks, which is essentially a promise that we will have a debate and possibly a vote on extending Obamacare subsidies at some point in the future,” Cillizza said.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (DY) and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (DY), left, hold a press conference about the GOP compromise bill at the Capitol on Wednesday, June 11, 2025, in Washington. (J. Scott Applewhite/AP Photo)
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Cillizza said Schumer was not involved in the plan but will likely be blamed for it.
New York Times columnist Ezra Klein wrote a column Monday’s headline was: “What were the Democrats thinking?”
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Klein said he would not vote for reconciliation in the Senate, but that the senators who did vote listened to their constituents and saved President Donald Trump politically.
“Shutdowns are an opportunity to have a debate, and the country was just starting to pay attention,” Klein wrote. “If Trump wants to cancel flights on Thanksgiving instead of keeping health care costs low, I don’t see why Democrats should spare him from stating his priorities so clearly. And I worry that Democrats are teaching Trump that they will cave under pressure. That’s the kind of lesson he remembers.”
