This morning we’ll feature our regular series “Leader Look.” We’re focusing on Senate Majority Leader John Thune and Minority Leader Chuck Schumer today. Tomorrow is Speaker Mike Johnson and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer: Schumer has undergone one of his toughest periods as Democratic leader since taking over the job in 2017. Schumer was hammered by progressives for allowing passage of the long-term continuing resolution to fund the federal government in mid-March. His standing on the left has been severely damaged, and it may never fully recover.
There was no chance that Schumer and Senate Democrats were ever going to vote for a shutdown. But Schumer at one point gave mixed signals on whether he’d seek to filibuster the CR.
Schumer then caused an uproar when he said just a day later that Senate Democrats wouldn’t allow a shutdown. Jeffries and House Democratic leaders made clear their opposition to the move – without naming Schumer – while Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) openly bashed him.
We warned you where Schumer would come down on the issue. However, progressives upset over November’s stunning election defeats had convinced themselves that a government shutdown was the best way to counter President Donald Trump, Elon Musk and DOGE, and an ascendant GOP.
Following his decision on the CR, there were some calls to replace Schumer as Democratic leader or primary him in 2028. He went on MSNBC and ran a NYT op-ed to justify the move, arguing that as party leader, he had to take the heat on this one. It didn’t mollify his critics.
Schumer, though, remains firmly in charge of his caucus, and 2028 is a long, long way off. It’s a virtual lifetime in politics. Ask Trump.
We’ll note that Schumer was helped immensely by SignalGate, the internal GOP budget resolution fight and the economic shock of Trump’s trade war. The chaos coming from the Trump administration took the focus off Schumer, and he had a couple of solid weeks heading into the Easter recess.
Schumer is spending the break appearing in Republican-held House districts back home, hammering Trump on Medicaid and tariffs (a huge issue in upstate New York). He’s moved to block two Trump nominees for key U.S. attorney posts in New York.
Senate Democrats are prepping for clashes over tax cuts, the debt limit, government funding and more. The fallout over Trump’s trade war may become the dominant issue of 2026 if the U.S. economy tips into a recession. Schumer will find much firmer political footing there.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune. As House GOP leaders were whipping votes for the budget resolution last week, it became clear that they needed Thune’s help to convince the House Freedom Caucus that Senate Republicans were serious about spending cuts.
But Thune knew that any commitment he made on this could come back to haunt him given how many GOP senators have drawn red lines on Medicaid cuts.
So Thune didn’t make that promise. Instead, Thune said he’ll try his best. That ended up being enough. Thune didn’t lose any of his leverage. He gave up nothing. Afterward, in a brief chat with us, he doubled down, underscoring the likelihood that House Republicans could get rolled on a final reconciliation bill due to Senate constraints.
There were a lot of doubts about whether the Midwestern-nice Thune could ever have an effective working relationship with Trump, especially given their history. But so far, Thune has proven he can keep Trump at bay while also using the president to his advantage when needed. The two regularly talk and text, and Thune is constantly in touch with senior White House aides.
That doesn’t mean Thune hasn’t had his disagreements with Trump, although he’s kept those mostly private. And while Thune got Trump’s Cabinet confirmed in record time, some of those officials — including Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. — have either contravened commitments made during their confirmation hearings or thumbed their noses at longtime Senate GOP priorities.
Still, the GOP leadership team’s track record on the floor is nearly perfect. Thune is a former whip. Majority Whip John Barrasso has won plaudits as well for helping wrangle votes for Trump’s Cabinet.
Thune has also shown he’s willing to play hardball with Democrats even if it means forcing uncomfortable vote times or — gasp! — Friday or weekend sessions.
The one vote Thune lost was on a privileged resolution to overturn Trump’s initial tariffs on Canada. Whenever we ask Thune about tariffs, the South Dakota Republican reminds us that his views on across-the-board tariffs are well known. Translation: He doesn’t like them. And he‘s clearly uncomfortable defending Trump’s moves.
Despite that, Thune worked to defeat the disapproval resolution so as to not undermine Trump. Thune knew it would be a bad look for the Senate, with the help of Republicans, to rebuke Trump on that high-profile issue.
The vote, a loss for the GOP leadership, was more of a symbolic setback. But it was also a reminder for Thune that keeping 50-plus Republicans together isn’t a given. He’ll need that mindset for the upcoming reconciliation wars.
