OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author’s opinion.
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A defiant Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer firmly rejected calls to step down as the chamber’s top Democrat, pushing back against criticism from House Democrats and progressive advocates upset over his support for a Republican-backed funding bill.
“Look, I’m not stepping down,” Schumer, D-N.Y., said in a taped interview that aired Sunday on NBC News’ “Meet the Press.”
Schumer told host Kristen Welker he knew there “would be a lot of controversy” when he voted to prevent a government shutdown. But he argued that while the GOP’s six-month bill was “certainly bad,” a shutdown “would be 15 or 20 times worse.”
“Under a shutdown, the executive branch has sole power to determine what is ‘essential.’ And they can determine without any court supervision. The courts have ruled it’s solely up to the executive what to shut down,” he said, claiming that the Trump administration “would eviscerate the federal government.”
“On Day 2, they could say, ‘Oh, SNAP? Feeding hungry children? Not essential.’ On Day 4, ‘Mass transit? All transit? Aid to the states? Not essential. We’re cutting it.’ On Day 6, ‘Medicaid? We’ll cut that by 20%, 30%, 50%, 80%. We’ll go after Social Security. We’ll go after the veterans.’ Their goal is to just eviscerate the federal government so they can give more taxes, and their tax cuts … to their billionaire class over there,” he said.
Trump and Republicans have repeatedly stated that they do not want to cut Social Security and Medicare benefits, only that they seek to identify and eliminate waste, fraud, and abuse. Also, Trump and the GOP have never said they will “go after” veterans to cut their benefits.
“Sometimes, when you’re a leader, you have to do things to avoid a real danger that might come down the curve. And I did it out of pure conviction as to what a leader should do and what the right thing for America and my party was. People disagree,” Schumer continued.
Democratic senators alone have the authority to choose their leader, and so far, none have directly called on Schumer to resign from the post he’s held for over eight years, NBC News reported. However, some have acknowledged that it may be time for reflection. At a town hall last week, Sen. Michael Bennet (D-Colo.) told a constituent, “We’re going to have future conversations about all the Democratic leadership.”
Schumer also dismissed comparisons to then-President Joe Biden’s refusal to step aside as the 2024 nominee, pushing back against the suggestion that he’s making a similar mistake.
“No, absolutely not. I did this out of conviction. And, look, in my caucus, we have a disagreement as to, you know, some people voted one way, some people voted the other. But we’ve all agreed to respect each other because each side saw why the other side felt so strongly about it. And our caucus is united in fighting Donald Trump every step of the way,” Schumer said, without clarifying that he would support the president on matters that are good for Americans.
NBC News has reported that some Democrats are hoping progressive Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) will launch a primary challenge against Sen. Chuck Schumer in 2028, should he decide to run for re-election. Speaking on CNN’s State of the Union Sunday, Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) said the decision ultimately rests with Ocasio-Cortez.
“There were a lot of people at the Democratic retreat who had encouraged her, and I was just in New York, and I was surprised how much support there is,” he said.
“The American people are fed up with the old guard. There needs to be a renewal. In Silicon Valley, when a company isn’t doing well, you don’t keep the same team,” Khanna added.
