On Tuesday, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) insisted that he is “best” suited to lead Democrats in the upper chamber as he faces a crisis of confidence in his party after refusing to vote in favor of blocking a Republican-backed stopgap bill to avert a partial government shutdown last week.
“I’m the best leader for the Senate,” Schumer said during a “CBS Mornings” interview when pressed on calls for him to step aside. “We have a lot of leaders — you know, when you don’t have a president, there’s not one leader of the party. There are lots of them. We have a lot of good people, but we — I am the best at keep — winning Senate seats. I’ve done it in 2005 to — just in 2020, no one thought we’d take back the Senate; under my leadership we took it.”
Democrats offered a four-week continuing resolution (CR) as an alternative to the GOP’s six-month measure, claiming it would give both sides time to reach a bipartisan agreement. However, Schumer declared he would not vote to stop the Republican funding patch, saying that allowing 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.
Immense blowback within the party ensued.
Liberal groups called for Schumer to step down as Senate minority leader. Some Democrats in Congress openly rejected his stance in the spending fight, while House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) notably said “next question” when asked if he had confidence in Schumer. And CNN reported Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) was mobilizing Democrats against Schumer’s plan and noted some colleagues were privately urging the leftist firebrand to consider a primary challenge against him.
Schumer, who just scrapped book tour appearances while citing safety concerns, claimed that he and Jeffries have a “plan” to counter Trump. As an example, Schumer referred to a joint statement that he and Jeffries issued on Tuesday morning touting a “Medicaid Day of Action” they claimed would “push back” against the “extreme” Republican budget. The Senate minority leader added that they would highlight a variety of issues, such as tariffs.
“It’s beginning to work,” Schumer said. “His numbers have come down. If we keep at it, every day relentless fighting, and showing how they’re hurting people so badly, Trump’s numbers will get much lower and his both popularity but also his effectiveness will decline.”
Schumer will have his work cut out for him.
A national survey from NBC found that Trump and his second-term administration reached a significant milestone, with 44% of Americans saying they believed the United States was “headed in the right direction” — the highest level since early 2004 when George W. Bush was president. Meanwhile, the same poll found just 27% of respondents had a positive view of the Democrats. A survey from CNN that showed their party at 29% favorability.
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[[{“value”:”
On Tuesday, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) insisted that he is “best” suited to lead Democrats in the upper chamber as he faces a crisis of confidence in his party after refusing to vote in favor of blocking a Republican-backed stopgap bill to avert a partial government shutdown last week.
“I’m the best leader for the Senate,” Schumer said during a “CBS Mornings” interview when pressed on calls for him to step aside. “We have a lot of leaders — you know, when you don’t have a president, there’s not one leader of the party. There are lots of them. We have a lot of good people, but we — I am the best at keep — winning Senate seats. I’ve done it in 2005 to — just in 2020, no one thought we’d take back the Senate; under my leadership we took it.”
Democrats offered a four-week continuing resolution (CR) as an alternative to the GOP’s six-month measure, claiming it would give both sides time to reach a bipartisan agreement. However, Schumer declared he would not vote to stop the Republican funding patch, saying that allowing 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.
Immense blowback within the party ensued.
Liberal groups called for Schumer to step down as Senate minority leader. Some Democrats in Congress openly rejected his stance in the spending fight, while House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) notably said “next question” when asked if he had confidence in Schumer. And CNN reported Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) was mobilizing Democrats against Schumer’s plan and noted some colleagues were privately urging the leftist firebrand to consider a primary challenge against him.
Schumer, who just scrapped book tour appearances while citing safety concerns, claimed that he and Jeffries have a “plan” to counter Trump. As an example, Schumer referred to a joint statement that he and Jeffries issued on Tuesday morning touting a “Medicaid Day of Action” they claimed would “push back” against the “extreme” Republican budget. The Senate minority leader added that they would highlight a variety of issues, such as tariffs.
“It’s beginning to work,” Schumer said. “His numbers have come down. If we keep at it, every day relentless fighting, and showing how they’re hurting people so badly, Trump’s numbers will get much lower and his both popularity but also his effectiveness will decline.”
Schumer will have his work cut out for him.
A national survey from NBC found that Trump and his second-term administration reached a significant milestone, with 44% of Americans saying they believed the United States was “headed in the right direction” — the highest level since early 2004 when George W. Bush was president. Meanwhile, the same poll found just 27% of respondents had a positive view of the Democrats. A survey from CNN that showed their party at 29% favorability.
“}]]
