Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer is under siege — by his own party.
After the New York Democrat capitulated to President Donald Trump over a short-term funding bill, he’s received some pointed warnings from colleagues warning that his leadership position could be in jeopardy. An increasing number of liberal organizations are calling on Schumer to either step down from his leadership position or to fight more aggressively. Schumer even canceled events promoting his new book this week after progressive groups planned to stage protests against them.
The dissent reflects the Democratic Party’s intensifying identity crisis over how to fight back against Trump.
The dissent reflects the Democratic Party’s intensifying identity crisis over how to fight back against Trump — and a rejection of Schumer’s belief that Trump’s policy mistakes will speak for themselves. Should Schumer continue to invest in the “play dead” strategy, it could cost him his position.
Rep. Glenn Ivey, D-Md., was the first to openly call for Schumer to step down at a town hall on Tuesday. “I respect Chuck Schumer. I think he had a great, long-standing career, did a lot of great things, but I’m afraid that it may be time for the Senate Democrats to get a new leader,” he said. That same day, Rep. Delia Ramirez, D-Ill., responded affirmatively when asked at a town hall if she supported him stepping down. When asked if more could follow, one House Democrat told Axios, “I think there are some already there but just haven’t been asked directly or avoided the question.”
Schumer’s colleagues in the Senate haven’t called on him to step down, but they’ve still been strikingly critical. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., said Schumer was “wrong” to cooperate with Trump. When asked at a town hall if he would call for Schumer to step down, Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., said: “In dodging your question, let me just say: It’s important for people to know when it’s time to go, and I think in the case of Joe Biden. And we’re going to have conversations I’m sure in the foreseeable future about all the Democratic leadership.”
Bennet’s invocation of Biden’s implosion should make Schumer at least a little uneasy. We’re certainly not close to the rolling wave of demands for Biden to step down from his presidential candidacy in 2024. But an idea has to start somewhere, and now it’s in the air.
Recall that when the calls for Biden’s withdrawal started to pick up, former Speaker Nancy Pelosi effectively let them take their course by refusing to stand in the way and saying it was up to Biden to decide whether he wanted to remain in the race. Pelosi may be positioning herself analogously in this moment. She hasn’t come out against Schumer’s leadership position, but she also criticized him sharply this week, telling reporters that Schumer could have negotiated harder with Republicans by pushing back against spending cuts to programs like Medicaid and trying to get them to “agree to a third way.” Failing that, she argued, Democrats should have at least attempted to set Republicans up for the blame in case of a government shutdown. “I myself don’t give away anything for nothing,” she said. “I think that’s what happened the other day.”
Schumer has led his party in the Senate for the better part of a decade, and he can probably withstand a lot of heat. But the pressure is on for him to change his approach to legislative fights in the coming months, including bills to raise the debt ceiling, and another government funding bill in the fall. Ultimately his leadership position is less important than what the threats to it symbolize: a desperate feeling that the party needs an overhaul.
