Chuck Schumer delivered a defiant message amid growing calls for him to step down as the Senate Minority Leader. In an interview on NBC’s Meet the Press, the Democratic leader said he was not planning on leaving his post.
Schumer has received backlash since helping to avert a government shutdown by aiding the Republicans in passing their stopgap spending plan over the objection of the majority of his fellow Democratic Senators and House Democrats. He has lost favor with many of his fellow party members, especially those who believe the Democrats need a more aggressive tactic to go against President Donald Trump.
But, Schumer says that despite the fallout, he is not yet done leading the minority party in the Senate. He defended his decision to vote for the bill in order to avoid the “horror” of the government shutdown, saying he believed he was doing the “right thing for America” and for his party. It was a decision he says was made out of “pure conviction.”
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“Look, I’m not stepping down,” Schumer told host Kristen Welker, stating that he knew he would get backlash for his decision. “A shutdown would be 15 or 20 times worse. Under a shutdown, the Executive Branch has sole power to determine what is, quote, ‘essential.’ And they can determine without any court supervision.”
Maryland Rep. Glenn Ivey called for Schumer to step down in a packed town hall earlier in the week, saying that he has “respect” for Schumer, but believes “it may be time for Senate Democrats to get a new leader.” This came after Rep. Jasmine Crockett of Texas questioned the senior Senator’s leadership, telling Jake Tapper on CNN that Schumer was “absolutely wrong” in his decision to vote in favor of the spending plan.
“Senate Democrats have to sit down and take a look and decide whether or not Chuck Schumer is the one to lead in this moment,” she said, later adding that “younger, fresher leadership may be something that many of us—not just depending on what part of the spectrum you’re on—but many Americans may be looking for.”
Other prominent progressive Democrats to criticize Schumer’s decision include Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, who said “there is a deep sense of outrage and betrayal” over Schumer’s support for the GOP spending plan, and Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, who said: “I am disgusted that several Senate Democrats gave up our first point of leverage.”
In addition to individual lawmakers, several progressive groups have called for Schumer to “change course” or step down. Progressive advocacy group Indivisible called for Schumer to “step aside,” saying that the party needs “new leadership.” Four Gen-Z led political organizations—Sunrise Movement, College Democrats of America, United We Dream Action, and Voters of Tomorrow—also co-signed a memo in which they argued that Schumer’s leadership is “failing to meet the moment.”
“If you refuse to fight for our future, we will find leaders who will,” read the united message from the activist groups.
In the pre-taped interview which aired on Sunday, Schumer went on to tell Welker that Democrats are “united” in fighting Trump “every step of the way,” and that their goal is “to make Donald Trump the quickest lame duck in modern history by showing how bad his policies are.”
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Schumer also said that “democracy is at risk” under Trump, responding to his recent call to impeach a judge who ruled against him on the deportations of immigrants alleged by the U.S. to be Venezuelan gang members. Trump’s call for the judge to be impeached earned him a rare, and public, rebuke from Chief Justice John Roberts, who stood firm against the notion of the impeachment of judges over judicial differences.
“Look, Donald Trump is a lawless, angry man,” Schumer said in response to a question about whether or not the U.S. is at constitutional risk. “He thinks he should be king. He thinks he should do whatever he wants, regardless of the law, and he thinks judges should just listen to him.”
If Trump defies the Supreme Court, Schumer says the Democrats will “rise up” against him, and that the public may as well. “It will trigger a mass movement from one end of the country to the other, something that we haven’t seen in a very long time,” he predicted.
