WASHINGTON — Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., defended Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer in an exclusive interview on NBC News’ “Meet the Press,” urging House Democrats to stick to their chamber rather than focus on the party’s Senate leadership.
“I don’t tell Ro Khanna or AOC or anybody else who you should pick as your House leader, because I got a full-time job being a senator,” Kaine said Sunday, referring to Reps. Ro Khanna of California and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York.
“I don’t need to freelance opinions about House leadership,” Kaine said. “They should focus on their own leadership and let senators do what we need to do to keep this country moving forward.”
After a handful of Democrats sided with Republicans on a funding bill to reopen the government, Khanna said in a post to X that he believed Schumer “is no longer effective and should be replaced.” Ocasio-Cortez has said that the “problem” was bigger than Schumer, but in an interview with Politico last week, she said, “It is Senate Democrats that select their leadership.”
In a separate interview on “Meet the Press,” Khanna argued that Schumer “doesn’t inspire confidence. He’s not bold. He’s out of touch with the grassroots.”
“He’s someone who cheerled us into the war in Iraq, he doesn’t have the moral clarity on Gaza, he couldn’t say Mamdani’s name, and this was the final straw where he was not strong on fighting for health care,” he said, referring to New York City mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani.
The record-long shutdown ended last week when eight Democratic senators sided with Republicans on a funding deal, which did not extend Affordable Care Act subsidies, despite health care being a top demand for Democrats. Kaine was one of the lawmakers who voted with Republicans, infuriating many members of his own party.
The other seven senators he joined were Jeanne Shaheen and Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire; Catherine Cortez Masto and Jacky Rosen of Nevada; Dick Durbin of Illinois; John Fetterman of Pennsylvania; and Angus King, an independent from Maine who caucuses with Democrats.
As part of the deal, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said he would hold a vote on extending Affordable Care Act subsidies. House Speaker Mike Johnson, though, has not made a similar promise on the House side.
Kaine emphasized that the funding bill also included full-year funds for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), federal worker protections and a future Senate vote on health care subsidies.
“Frankly, I viewed the situation last weekend as we had no path, none, to a health care fix until we reopened government,” Kaine told moderator Kristen Welker. “Now we have a path, not a guarantee, but we at least have a path.”
Although House Republicans have not promised to hold votes on Obamacare subsidies, Kaine argued that it would be “malpractice” for House Republicans to not take up a health care proposal if it got bipartisan support.
“If they don’t take it up, I’ll give you a prediction: The November 2026 elections are going to look a whole lot worse for Republicans than the November 2025 elections did,” Kaine said.
The Virginia senator also did not rule out voting against government funding bills in January when lawmakers face the next potential government shutdown.
“Don’t ask me to assume failure on the effort that we’re undertaking,” Kaine said when asked whether he would rule out moving to shut down the government next year if Democrats could not get an extension on Obamacare subsidies.
