Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., talks with reporters outside the U.S. Capitol about members security after the murder of Charlie Kirk on Thursday, Sept. 11, 2025. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
Aftyn Behn, the Democratic nominee to represent Tennessee's 7th Congressional District who has been described as the "AOC of TN," said the shutdown ending proved "we need a new generation of leadership in Washington" and criticized the "career politicians" who caved without a guarantee to vote on ACA subsidies from House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La.
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Saikat Chakrabarti, Ocasio-Cortez's former chief of staff who is running to replace House Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi in her congressional district in San Francisco, agreed those Democrats who "caved" to Trump to reopen the government proved "we need a new generation of leaders in Congress."
Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., speaks at a campaign event for Zohran Mamdani in New York City on Saturday, Nov. 1, 2025. New York voters are turning out early in high numbers for a mayoral race that's captured the country's attention. (Christian Monterrosa/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
And Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., who traveled to Queens, New York City, to campaign for Mamdani last month, has said this week that reopening the government without healthcare guarantees proved Schumer is "no longer effective and should be replaced."
"If you can’t lead the fight to stop healthcare premiums from skyrocketing for Americans, what will you fight for?" Khanna said.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., on Thursday shifted the blame to Republicans, charging Trump and Republicans of adopting a "my way or the highway" approach in Congress.
"Unless they change course, we're going to have challenges governmentally for the balance of the first two years of Donald Trump's time in office," Jeffries said on MSNBC's "Way Too Early."
Funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) expired on Nov. 1, jeopardizing food access for millions of low-income Americans who rely on the benefit.
Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., speaks at the "No Kings" Rally in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 18, 2025. (Fox News Digital/Emma Woodhead)
While Ocasio-Cortez questioned what the shutdown was for, if not to preserve the healthcare subsidies, Rep. Shomari Figures, D-Ala., argued Wednesday that healthcare in Alabama is more than just a "talking point," citing Alabama's low life expectancy rates and limited hospitals.
"Protecting health care for us is a requisite," he said. "It's a requirement. It's something we have to do. And if you ask us if the shutdown was worth it, I say, hell yes, it was worth it. Because fighting to maintain healthcare for American people, there's nothing more pure than that. There's no more important role that we have here as members of Congress."
Meanwhile, "Squad" member Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., called the Senate's deal a "betrayal of working people and a sham."
"The public rightly recognizes that Trump and Congressional Republicans are to blame for the longest government shutdown in history," Omar said in a statement on behalf of the progressive caucus.
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And Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., a longtime supporter of Medicare for All and universal healthcare, also criticized Trump on Wednesday for being "willing to see children go hungry to make a political point."
"I think what is so important for folks to understand is that this problem is bigger than one person, and it actually is bigger than the minority leader in the Senate," Ocasio-Cortez said Wednesday, calling this failure of Democrats to hold the line on the government shutdown a "reflection of the party."
Fox News' Tyler Olson and Ryan Schmelz contributed to this report.
Deirdre Heavey is a politics writer for Fox News Digital.
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https://www.foxnews.com/politics/progressive-democrats-turn-party-leadership-after-government-shutdown-ends-without-healthcare-guarantees