Iowa Democratic U.S. Senate candidates Zach Wahls, Nathan Sage call for Chuck Schumer to step down from leadership

Two Iowa Democratic U.S. Senate candidates are calling for Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer to step down from his leadership position after some Democrats in the chamber joined Republicans to advance a plan to end the government shutdown without health care subsidy extension guarantees.

On Sunday night, eight Democrats joined Senate Republicans in a 60-40 vote to advance legislation to end the government shutdown without a guarantee to extend expanded Affordable Care Act subsidies, an issue that Democrats have held the line on throughout the six-week government shutdown to address spiking health care premiums.

Instead, Senate Majority Leader John Thune is promising a vote on the issue in mid-December, but many congressional Democrats are rejecting the deal and urging Schumer to step down from leadership. On Monday, Democratic state Sen. Zach Wahls, of Coralville, who is running for U.S. Senate, joined the calls.

During a call with reporters Monday morning, Wahls bashed Schumer’s leadership, calling it a “betrayal.” While Schumer voted no on the deal, Wahls argued the fracture in the party was a result of Schumer's leadership, stretching back to March when he voted with Republicans to keep the government open despite Democratic opposition.

“What's happening in Washington, D.C., is the failure of Senate Democratic leadership to meet the moment, and that's why it's time for Chuck Schumer to step aside as leader, to make way for someone else who's willing to fight,” Wahls told reporters. “What we saw last night was unacceptable. It's a travesty for hard-working families and people whose health care costs are already unaffordable, and I would say it is an outright betrayal.”

Roughly 137,000 Iowans currently rely on the Affordable Care Act marketplace for coverage.

The deal struck over the weekend during the longest U.S. government shutdown to date does not address health care subsidies, but it would fund the federal government through Jan. 30, would rehire federal workers laid off at the beginning of the shutdown and provide funding for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

Pressure to end the government shutdown has started to intensify after SNAP recipients stopped receiving benefits on Nov. 1 and travelers have faced delays as the Federal Aviation Administration reduced flights at 40 major U.S. airports while air traffic controllers and Transportation Security Administration workers go unpaid.

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Wahls emphasized that last week’s election, where Democrats outperformed Republicans, gave them leverage in negotiations, which he said was wasted as some lawmakers “threw in the towel.”

“It's a good illustration of why so many people have lost trust in the leadership of the national Democratic Party in terms of the kind of future leadership,” Wahls said.

Wahls, who has been critical of Schumer in the past, did not name a lawmaker he would like to see replace Schumer, but said that if he is elected, he would vote for someone who is “in touch with the challenges that are facing our state.”

Nathan Sage, a former Chamber of Commerce leader who also is running for the Democratic nomination in the Iowa U.S. Senate race, also called for Schumer to step down Monday in a video posted on social media where he called the eight Democrats who voted for the stopgap measure “spineless” and “shameful.”

“Chuck Schumer, get out of here. He lacks the leadership to get the caucus in line to actually fight. He's the most pathetic minority leader, and it's long past time for him to get the hell out of the way,” Sage said in the video. “All I see, and so many other people see as well, is more lies, more failed promises from politicians who could give a crap less about working-class Iowans.”

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Sage said the lawmakers who voted for the legislation Sunday night “sold out” working-class Iowans, who he said would continue to be harmed if ACA subsidies are not extended.

“People are going to die because they can't afford their health care, and Senate Dems just caved, accomplished nothing and allowed it to happen,” Sage said. “Iowans are desperate for leaders who are going to fight for them, not bend the knee.”

Iowa state Rep. Josh Turek, of Council Bluffs, and veterans advocate Bob Krause, of Burlington, also are running for the Democratic nomination in the Iowa U.S. Senate race. Their campaigns did not immediately respond to requests for comment Monday.

The primary election is June 2, 2026.