U.S. Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy on Sunday hesitantly expressed support for Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, but said Democrats need to change their "tactics" if they hope to be effective.
Speaking on NBC News' "Meet the Press," Murphy acknowledged that Schumer can "certainly" continue to lead the Democratic Party. However, when asked whether he was "the best person" to lead the caucus, Murphy was less definitive.
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"[Schumer] can lead this caucus, but we need to have a conversation inside the caucus about whether we are willing to stand up to Republicans," he said. "Listen, we have options. We could decide to not proceed legislation as an ordinary course of business — there are big fights ahead of us, like the debt ceiling, like another potential government shutdown in six months."
"So we have opportunities as a caucus to stand up and meet this moment," Murphy continued. "And I think the American people are demanding that we do that."
Murphy, a junior senator from Connecticut, is the latest Democratic lawmaker to publicly question the future of the party following November's landslide electoral loss, in which Republicans regained control of the White House and Senate, while maintaining command in the House of Representatives.
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Last week, Sen. Elissa Slotkin of Michigan also took aim at Democratic leadership and said "new voices" in the party need to do more if they hope to combat the type of political movement President Donald Trump and Republicans have led.
"Trump has been successful in flooding the zone and just like, everyday, 15 things happening," Slotkin said. "We are still finding our footing and I think you can't get better until you admit you have a problem. And for me that's one of the things that I think some of the new voices in the party have really been agitating about."
This all comes as a new poll found that the public's perception of the Democratic Party has dropped to a record low. According to a survey conducted by CNN and SSRS, just 29% of Americans view the caucus favorably, compared to 36% for the Republican Party.
It marks the lowest favorability rating for Democrats since CNN polling dating back more than three decades — and a 20-point drop since Trump was first inaugurated in January 2021.
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The recent survey was also conducted March 6-9, just days before 10 Democratic senators — including Minority Leader Schumer — sided with Republicans in passing a spending bill to avert a government shutdown.
Schumer gave members of his caucus days to vent their frustration about the options before them but abruptly switched course and made clear on the eve of voting that he would not allow a government shutdown. His move outraged many in the party who want to fight the Trump agenda, but gave senators room to side with Republicans and allow the continuing resolution to advance.
