The deal cut by some Senate Democrats to reopen government has refueled the party’s tussle over strategy and identity just days after sweeping election victories had raised hopes that the left’s disparate factions were pulling in the same direction heading into the 2026 midterms.

Democrats’ latest fault lines do not track perfectly along the familiar split between progressives and centrists. Instead, there's renewed rancor over how aggressively to fight President Donald Trump and his compliant GOP majorities on Capitol Hill, with some progressives renewing their calls for Democratic Senate leader Chuck Schumer to step aside, even as he publicly opposes the latest deal.

The left flank is incensed that eight centrist senators — none of whom face reelection in 2026 — crafted a deal with Republicans that does not guarantee Democrats’ main demand to extend Affordable Care Act premium subsidies that will expire at the end of the year. They say the agreement means Schumer could not hold his caucus together.

Some moderates are frustrated, or at least caught on a political tightrope after more than a month of Democrats agreeing that the longest federal shutdown ever was the way, finally, to use their limited influence to achieve some policy and political wins in a Republican-dominated capital.

Party leaders including Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries continue blaming Republicans for the looming premium spikes and other shutdown ripples, but the standoff’s sudden end underscores the difficulty of maintaining Democrats’ fragile and fractious coalition.

The Democrats who cut a deal counter that they had little choice — that Republicans weren’t budging, and the pressure of the prolonged shutdown had become untenable as the Trump administration withheld food assistance payments to low-income Americans and mandated flight delays at airports strained by a shortage of air traffic controllers.

Democrats settled for a pledge from Senate Majority Leader John Thune of South Dakota to hold a vote in December on ACA subsidies, along with assuring back pay for federal workers who’ve missed paychecks, among other policy details.

“This was the only deal on the table,” said Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, a New Hampshire Democrat.

Democrats also pointed to Trump, after the GOP’s electoral defeats, calling on Republican senators to end the filibuster and bypass the minority altogether. That showed, the centrists argued, that Trump could not be maneuvered into negotiations — though Republican senators were pushing back to defend the filibuster.

“After 40 days, it wasn’t going to work,” Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia said of Democrats’ demands.

Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin, Schumer’s deputy on the floor, said: “Government shutting down seemed to be an opportunity to lead us to a better policy. But it didn’t work.”

That wasn’t enough for many center-left and some swing-state Democrats.

None of the eight senators at the center of the agreement face voters in 2026, and they have an average age exceeding 65. Shaheen, 78, and Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin, 80, already have announced their retirements ahead of the midterms.

It’s a difficult turn, especially, for Schumer. The 74-year-old New Yorker faced withering critiques for not shutting down government in the spring. The mention of his name last Friday at CrookedCon, a gathering of progressives in Washington, drew jeers and boos, even as he remained dug in for the shutdown fight.

The age of Democrats’ national leaders and the related assertion that they’re out of touch with the base have been defining aspects of the party dynamic for several years, especially with Joe Biden being the oldest president in U.S. history and having to be forced out of a reelection bid at the age of 82. But Biden and especially former Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who is retiring from the House at age 85, got credit for muscling through significant legislation during Biden’s presidency.

Schumer, 74, has never gotten the same credit for his Senate role, and now he faces criticism for not keeping his caucus together, even with public polling and election outcomes suggesting voters were siding with Democrats. Schumer aides did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday.