Democrats in Congress are starting to openly talk about Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) stepping aside from his top perch in the upper chamber.
The New York Democrat is facing blowback after he refused to vote in favor of blocking a Republican-backed stopgap bill to avert a partial government shutdown last week and provide funds to various federal agencies through September 30.
“It may be time for the Senate Democrats to pick new leadership,” Rep. Glenn Ivey (D-MD) said during a town hall on Tuesday.
During a different event, Rep. Delia Ramirez (D-IL) nodded and said “yes” when asked whether Schumer should “retire or step down,” according to Axios.
They join liberal groups that had already begun to push for Schumer to step down as Senate minority leader in response to his decision not to stymie the Republican funding patch.
Schumer warned that a shutdown would empower President Donald Trump to keep cutting programs as part of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) effort led by Elon Musk.
But not everyone bought Schumer’s argument: some Democrats have chided the Senate minority leader over the view that he abdicated to Republicans, but have not gone quite so far as to call for his ouster.
“I myself don’t give away anything for nothing, and I think that’s what happened the other day,” former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said during an event on Tuesday.
Still, both Pelosi and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) stated that they have confidence in Schumer, although the latter initially hesitated to do so.
Eight other Democrats and one independent banded with Schumer in voting to overcome the filibuster threshold on the Republican continuing resolution. Democrats did get votes on some amendments that were ultimately rejected.
Joining ABC’s “The View” on Tuesday, Schumer took a defiant stance when co-host Alyssa Farah Griffin asked whether it might be time for him to step aside as President Joe Biden did in the 2024 election.
“I should be the leader,” Schumer declared, adding that he is “known” to be good with elections and has “a lot of talent” in orchestrating messaging strategies.
