Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) faces growing scrutiny as Democrats and their allies debate whether he should step down. The controversy stems from his decision earlier this month not to obstruct the Republicans’ stopgap bill, which aimed to prevent a partial government shutdown — a move that has unsettled the Democratic Party’s base.

On ABC’s “This Week,” Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) nearly walked out of an interview when asked by co-anchor Jonathan Karl whether he would like to see Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) join him in the Senate. This followed CNN reporting that Ocasio-Cortez was being urged to consider a primary against Schumer. Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez just appeared together for a rally in Denver.

“No, you want to do nonsense. Do nonsense,” hissed Sanders, who had gotten up out of his chair and out of the camera’s view. After Karl responded in the negative, the senator added, “I don’t want to talk about inside-the-Beltway stuff.” Karl eventually got Sanders to return when he promised his next question would not be about Ocasio-Cortez.

Schumer defended himself during an appearance on NBC’s “Meet The Press.” Host Kristen Welker noted that “outside groups” and even some members of his own party have called on Schumer to step aside. She then asked Schumer if he is “feeling pressure” to leave the role.

“Look, I’m not stepping down,” Schumer declared. He said the GOP-backed continuing resolution was “certainly bad,” but argued that allowing a shutdown would be “15 to 20 times worse” because it would give the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) led by Elon Musk more room to cut programs.

When pressed over whether he was “making the same mistake that President Biden did,” a reference to the intra-party fight during the 2024 election season, Schumer insisted: “No, absolutely not. I did this out of conviction. And, look, in my caucus, we have a disagreement as to 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.”

Ocasio-Cortez, who has avoided saying whether she would challenge Schumer, first became a national figure in 2018 when she defeated the No. 4 House Democrat, Joseph Crowley, in a primary upset. That kind of record could be attractive to those looking for a major shakeup, particularly as the Democratic Party faces low approval ratings.

Silicon Valley Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) was asked during an interview on CNN’s “State of the Union,” was asked whether Ocasio-Cortez should challenge Schumer for his seat. Though Khanna did not bite, he did say “there would be a lot of support” for her. He also said: “The American people are fed up with the old guard. There needs to be a renewal.”

Joining “Face the Nation” on CBS, Rep. Jim Hines (D-CT) addressed how House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) broke with Schumer.

“It was not a good look for the two congressional Democratic leaders to be on opposite sides of the continuing resolution,” Himes said. “That created a great deal of agita out there, and legitimately so. So I am quite certain that Hakeem Jeffries and Chuck Schumer have learned from this experience and are going to, at a minimum, be unified going forward here.”

Also on “Meet The Press,” Sen. John Curtis (R-UT) delivered a retort to Schumer saying that he believes there is a constitutional crisis in response to how President Donald Trump is grappling with judges who are issuing injunctions that block aspects of his second-term agenda while legal challenges play out in the courts.

“Well, listen, it’s easy to throw out,” Curtis said. “And by the way, when everything is a crisis, nothing is a crisis. President Trump has been very clear multiple times he will obey court orders. So I don’t see the crisis. And like I said, I see the civics lesson. Like, people need to be watching this and say, this is — this is actually what our founders intended. This tension, right? — between the three different branches. And Congress has our role in this, and you could fairly say we need to do more, and I’m with you, right? I think a lot of this opens up for the president when we don’t do our job.”

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​[[{“value”:”

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) faces growing scrutiny as Democrats and their allies debate whether he should step down. The controversy stems from his decision earlier this month not to obstruct the Republicans’ stopgap bill, which aimed to prevent a partial government shutdown — a move that has unsettled the Democratic Party’s base.

On ABC’s “This Week,” Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) nearly walked out of an interview when asked by co-anchor Jonathan Karl whether he would like to see Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) join him in the Senate. This followed CNN reporting that Ocasio-Cortez was being urged to consider a primary against Schumer. Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez just appeared together for a rally in Denver.

“No, you want to do nonsense. Do nonsense,” hissed Sanders, who had gotten up out of his chair and out of the camera’s view. After Karl responded in the negative, the senator added, “I don’t want to talk about inside-the-Beltway stuff.” Karl eventually got Sanders to return when he promised his next question would not be about Ocasio-Cortez.

Schumer defended himself during an appearance on NBC’s “Meet The Press.” Host Kristen Welker noted that “outside groups” and even some members of his own party have called on Schumer to step aside. She then asked Schumer if he is “feeling pressure” to leave the role.

“Look, I’m not stepping down,” Schumer declared. He said the GOP-backed continuing resolution was “certainly bad,” but argued that allowing a shutdown would be “15 to 20 times worse” because it would give the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) led by Elon Musk more room to cut programs.

When pressed over whether he was “making the same mistake that President Biden did,” a reference to the intra-party fight during the 2024 election season, Schumer insisted: “No, absolutely not. I did this out of conviction. And, look, in my caucus, we have a disagreement as to 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.”

Ocasio-Cortez, who has avoided saying whether she would challenge Schumer, first became a national figure in 2018 when she defeated the No. 4 House Democrat, Joseph Crowley, in a primary upset. That kind of record could be attractive to those looking for a major shakeup, particularly as the Democratic Party faces low approval ratings.

Silicon Valley Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) was asked during an interview on CNN’s “State of the Union,” was asked whether Ocasio-Cortez should challenge Schumer for his seat. Though Khanna did not bite, he did say “there would be a lot of support” for her. He also said: “The American people are fed up with the old guard. There needs to be a renewal.”

Joining “Face the Nation” on CBS, Rep. Jim Hines (D-CT) addressed how House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) broke with Schumer.

“It was not a good look for the two congressional Democratic leaders to be on opposite sides of the continuing resolution,” Himes said. “That created a great deal of agita out there, and legitimately so. So I am quite certain that Hakeem Jeffries and Chuck Schumer have learned from this experience and are going to, at a minimum, be unified going forward here.”

Also on “Meet The Press,” Sen. John Curtis (R-UT) delivered a retort to Schumer saying that he believes there is a constitutional crisis in response to how President Donald Trump is grappling with judges who are issuing injunctions that block aspects of his second-term agenda while legal challenges play out in the courts.

“Well, listen, it’s easy to throw out,” Curtis said. “And by the way, when everything is a crisis, nothing is a crisis. President Trump has been very clear multiple times he will obey court orders. So I don’t see the crisis. And like I said, I see the civics lesson. Like, people need to be watching this and say, this is — this is actually what our founders intended. This tension, right? — between the three different branches. And Congress has our role in this, and you could fairly say we need to do more, and I’m with you, right? I think a lot of this opens up for the president when we don’t do our job.”

“}]] 

 

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