Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer Isn’t Going Anywhere
On a pre-taped interview with NBC News’ “Meet the Press,” Schumer vowed that he will not step aside as the chamber’s top Democrat. Schumer defiantly rejected calls from some House colleagues and progressive advocates who are critical of his vote to help pass a Republican-led funding bill.
“Look, I’m not stepping down,” Schumer told moderator Kristen Welker. He knew there “would be a lot of controversy” when he cast his vote to prevent a shutdown. But he maintains that while the GOP’s six-month bill was “certainly bad,” a shutdown “would be 15 or 20 times worse.” From then on, Schumer’s talking points devolved into tedious, well-worn anti-Trump administration hyperbole. Schumer exaggerated that, under a showdown which his vote helped avoid, the Trump White House “would eviscerate the federal government.” On a roll, Schumer added, “Medicaid? We’ll [the Trump administration] cut that by 20%, 30%, 50%, 80%. We’ll go after Social Security. We’ll go after the veterans.” Because of President Trump, Schumer said, the U.S. is in the midst of “a constitutional crisis.” In the interview, Schumer described President Trump as “angry” and “lawless.”
His bravado aside, Schumer is feeling the heat. Adam Green, the Progressive Change Campaign Committee co-founder, said, “People are furious about Democrats not having a plan to fight Trump—and supposed ‘leaders’ [Schumer] folding.” Other Democratic-aligned groups like the Indivisible Project and “The View” television program demanded Schumer’s resignation. Worst of all, U.S. Representative Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) took her knife out again, this time to stab Schumer in the back much as she did to then-President Joe Biden. Pelosi slammed Schumer for giving away something, assumedly keeping the government open, in exchange for nothing.
But Schumer nevertheless deemed the public opinion heat too high to go ahead with his tour to promote his new book "Antisemitism in America: A Warning." Events planned in Baltimore, New York City and Washington, D.C. were cancelled for security concerns as protests were planned outside of all three events.
The reason that Schumer will not step aside, no matter how many voices object to his role as Congress’ highest-ranking Democrat, is because he revels in holding his party’s most powerful position and in showcasing himself. As the old Capitol Hill adage goes, the most dangerous place in Washington D.C. is standing between Schumer and a television camera. During Schumer's easy reelection campaign in 2004, his opponent, State Assemblyman Howard Mills, announced that he would "plant 25 trees to replace the trees killed last year to print Chuck Schumer's press releases.'' On one representative day in July, Schumer issued five press releases on a variety of disparate topics. Moreover, Schumer is desperate to regain his position as Senate Majority Leader which he held from 2021 to 2025.
The throw-out-Schumer fanatics should be careful what they wish for. Schumer is a formidable fund raiser. The Senate Majority PAC (SMP) raised $119 million in the third quarter, leaving it with $109 million at the beginning of October 2024 to try to keep Schumer in power. A reality check---the mid-term 2026 elections are 20 months away, several political eternities. If the Trump administration is faltering and the Democrats regain the Senate, the party’s disappointment with Schumer will disappear into history’s ash heap. Until that time, the cries for U.S. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to primary Schumer in 2028 may grow louder, a death wish for Democrats. On her “Fighting Oligarchy” tour with 83-year-old socialist multimillionaire Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Ocasio-Cortez said that she had her eye on “the big prize,” [the White House] and that what some “folks” consider radical, she thinks is “just common sense.” An interesting aside to the reports that the rallies attracted huge crowds. Using a sophisticated algorithm to analyze data from all smartphone devices at the event found the numbers were severely overinflated. Many of the attendees were probably bussed in and had a history of participating in Antifa/BLM, pro-Hamas, and pro-Palestinian protests. The Democrat Party is known for bussing activists through NGO networks to events to fill seats, a tactic repeatedly used throughout Kamala Harris' 2024 presidential campaign trail to create fake hype. Of the devices present, 84% had attended 9 or more Kamala Harris rallies, and 31% had attended more than 20 Antifa/BLM, pro-Hamas, pro-Palestinian protests.
Replacing the ultra-liberal Schumer with uber-progressive, confirmed socialist, open borders supporter Ocasio-Cortez won’t restore Democrats to the lofty status they once occupied as the blue-collar working man’s party. As the old saying goes, “Better to deal with the devil you know than a new friend you don’t.”
Joe Guzzardi is an Institute for Sound Public Policy analyst. Contact him at jguzzardi@ifspp.org
While the New York Democrat Primary is about three years down the road, U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez's polling is a shot over incumbent and Senate Minority Leader Democrat Chuck Schumer's head. Politico reported that the survey by the liberal firm Data for Progress found that 55 percent of Democratic likely voters said they supported or leaned toward supporting Rep. Ocasio-Cortez, while 36 percent backed or leaned toward backing Sen. Schumer. Nine percent were undecided.
Three years is an eternity away in poltics. But by the time 2028 rollls around, Schumer will have served nearly 50 years in congress and will be 77. AOC will be half a century younger, at 38.
Hopefully, Mr. Guzzardi is wrong here because I'm leaning toward those who hope AOC and her squirrelly Squad takes over leadership of the America-hating Democrat Party because then those fools most likely won't another national election for the foreseeable future. On the other hand, Schumer now can be considered to be damaged goods with far less influence then he's had in the recent past. Maybe this whole thing is a tossup at this point because nobody knows what will happen as a result of the Democrats eating their own. I love watching this, I really do!