Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and his staff are closely coordinating their government shutdown strategy with outside liberal groups, Axios has learned.
Why it matters: The same groups slammed Schumer earlier this year for caving on government funding. This time, the Democratic leader is playing to his base.
- Multiple progressive groups told Axios that they've had weekly meetings and conversations with Schumer and his team over the last two months.
- In the private talks, grassroots leaders have stressed the need for Schumer and Democrats to fight harder against President Trump and Republicans.
- Backing down and helping fund the government, like Schumer did in March, is unacceptable, the groups have told his team.
Zoom in: The organizations working closely with Schumer and his aides include MoveOn, the Progressive Change Campaign Committee and unions, people familiar said.
- "There has been more proactive communication from leadership to I would just call it the outside ecosystem," said Joel Payne, MoveOn's chief communications officer.
- "The battle lines that the grassroots of the party is drawing for the grasstops leadership is, hey, you got to be willing to fight."
Between the lines: Schumer's coordination with progressive activists comes amid growing chatter that Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) could launch a primary challenge against him in 2028.
- After Schumer voted to advance the GOP funding bill earlier year, a liberal pollster released a survey that found Ocasio-Cortez beating him in a theoretical match-up.
- Schumer took steps ahead of his 2022 reelection campaign to protect himself against a possible progressive challenge, including by working with liberal groups like the Sunrise Movement. He ultimately did not face such a challenge.
The big picture: Leaders from the organizations said a large trust gap still exists from the March blow-up.
- One senior leader from a top grassroots organization told Axios they have been leveraging the upcoming nationwide No Kings protest next month in conversations with the Schumer team.
- "You can either be a part of this movement or be irrelevant to it," the source said they told Schumer's team.
Between the lines: Schumer's leadership team established a war room email list with outside groups, strategists and influencers where they share talking points and social media posts to amplify.
- "Democrats do NOT want a shutdown," read the talking points in a recent message from the war room.
- Schumer's team is asking the groups to find "storytellers" who can talk about the real-life impacts of Medicaid cuts and expiring Affordable Care Act tax credits, according to a senior leader at a Democratic-aligned group.
- "They're treating it like a campaign. ... All those things didn't happen last time because maybe Democrats on Capitol Hill didn't feel like the time was right for a fight," the source said. "Or maybe they just didn't realize this was gonna irk the grassroots that much."
The bottom line: The outside pressure against Schumer isn't going anywhere soon.
- Liberal group Progress Action Fund is launching a "six-figure" ad buy pressuring Schumer to not help Republicans fund the government at the end of the month, the group told Axios first.
- The ad will be placed on social media, D.C. cable, MSNBC and other platforms.
