WATCH: Former House Speaker Blasts “Leaderless” Democrats For Allowing Radical Leftists Like AOC And Mamdani To Gain Traction

Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy tore into Democratic leadership Friday night, accusing Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of presiding over a party adrift — one that has, in his words, “lost its sense of purpose” and ceded control to far-left figures like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and state Rep. Zohran Mamdani.

“The Democrats don’t even know what they’re fighting for,” McCarthy said during an appearance on Fox News’ Jesse Watters Primetime. “That’s why you see the rise of AOC and Zohran Mamdani — they’re trying to become new leaders because their party’s current ones are showing none.”

McCarthy’s comments came as the federal government’s partial shutdown dragged on, with no deal in sight. The standoff began Wednesday, when Senate Democrats refused to back a GOP-backed continuing resolution to fund the government through Nov. 21.

Democrats, led by Schumer, are demanding that Republicans agree to extend pandemic-era Obamacare premium subsidies, a proposal GOP lawmakers have dismissed as a partisan ploy to revive an unpopular program.

With Republicans holding a 53–47 majority in the Senate, Democrats would need seven crossover votes to break the 60-vote threshold — a bar the GOP has shown no interest in meeting.

McCarthy singled out Schumer as emblematic of the problem, pointing to the Senate leader’s unsteady standing within his own party. “Chuck Schumer is so unpopular,” McCarthy said. “Remember when he voted for the continuing resolution last time? Democrats were furious. He had to cancel a book tour just to stop the bleeding.”

Schumer has faced growing discontent from his party’s progressive flank since March, when he supported a six-month GOP spending measure without securing Democratic priorities. Critics inside his caucus and among grassroots groups accused him of capitulating to Republicans — a move that has further alienated the activist base.

McCarthy argued that the ongoing rise of Ocasio-Cortez and Mamdani — both vocal socialists — is a symptom of a party losing its center of gravity.

“This is the biggest sign of the weakest leadership,” McCarthy said. “If Democrats believed Hakeem was a good leader, Nancy Pelosi would retire instead of hanging around. They are the biggest symbol of lack of leadership.”

Mamdani, who recently clinched the Democratic nomination for New York City mayor, has built his campaign on calls to slash police funding, impose rent controls, and expand government housing — positions that once sat on the political fringe but now command growing attention in the party’s urban base.

Republicans, meanwhile, have seized on that shift to argue that Democrats have become beholden to their most extreme elements. “Schumer and Jeffries aren’t leading — they’re following,” McCarthy said. “And they’re following people who want to turn America into something it’s not.”