Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) leaves after speaking with reporters at the Capitol in Washington, March 4, 2025. Schumer, Democrat of New York and the minority leader, on Monday, March 17, 2025, postponed a multicity tour to promote his forthcoming book, citing security concerns amid backlash to his decision to vote with Republicans for a stopgap spending bill to stave off a government shutdown. (Haiyun Jiang/The New York Times)

- Schumer defended his vote for a GOP-backed spending bill despite backlash from progressive Democrats demanding his resignation.
- Protesters and activists urged a primary challenge, with Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez floated as a potential opponent in 2028.
- Bernie Sanders and Ro Khanna criticized Senate Democrats for not securing concessions in exchange for their support.
Share
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
WASHINGTON — Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer says he won’t resign his post, despite pressure from some in his party after he voted to move forward with a Republican spending bill that avoided a government shutdown.
“Look, I’m not stepping down,” Schumer said in an interview with NBC’s “Meet the Press” that aired Sunday. The New York senator said he knew voting for the bill backed by Republican President Donald Trump would spark “a lot of controversy.”
“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,” he said. “People disagree.”
Democrats last week were confronted with two painful options: allowing passage of a bill they believe gave Trump vast discretion on spending decisions or letting funding lapse. After Schumer said he’d vote to advance the spending measure, 10 Democrats supported breaking the party’s filibuster and allowing the bill to pass.
Schumer Sparks Outrage From Democratic Base
Schumer’s move has sparked outrage from some Democrats and progressive activists who protested at his office and called on him to resign his position. They said they’d like to see him face a primary challenge — perhaps from New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
The uproar prompted Schumer last week to postpone his book tour amid a series of planned progressive demonstrations.
Schumer isn’t up for reelection until 2028. He told NBC that the spending bill that funds the government through September was “certainly bad.”
But he argued that not voting to provide the funding would have been “15 or 20 times worse.” He called his action “a vote of principle,” arguing that “sometimes when you’re a leader, you have to do things to avoid a real danger that might come down the curve.”
Bernie Sanders Criticized Schumer on ABC
In an interview that also aired Sunday on ABC’s “This Week,” Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, an independent who caucuses with Democrats, criticized Schumer and other members of Democratic Senate leadership. But he abruptly ended the interview when asked about Ocasio-Cortez potentially being elected to the Senate.
“I don’t want to talk about inside-the-beltway stuff,” Sanders said.
Another outspoken progressive, Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., said on CNN’s “State of the Union” that “There is no doubt that there is anger there, and people were very, very disappointed in the Senate.”
Khanna said the anger stemmed from Senate Democrats not seeking concessions for their support of the GOP-backed spending package — including possible limits on government spending and job cutting efforts being led on Trump’s behalf by billionaire Elon Musk.
Asked if he’d support Ocasio-Cortez challenging Schumer during a 2028 Democratic Senate primary in New York, Khanna said the decision to run was up to the congresswoman.
“I haven’t talked to her directly,” Khanna said.
He added: “But here’s what I will say: The American people are fed up with the old guard. There needs to be a renewal.”
RELATED TOPICS:
US Justice Department Official Meets Epstein Associate Maxwell
6 hours ago
Clovis Police Arrest Two in Mail Theft During Organized Retail Crime Detail
7 hours ago
Lara Trump Skips North Carolina US Senate Race, Clears Way for Cooper Versus Whatley
7 hours ago
Madera County Authorities Dismantle Illegal Marijuana Grow Operation
7 hours ago
Israel and US Recall Teams From Gaza Truce Talks, US Says Hamas Not Showing Good Faith
8 hours ago
Tulare County Judge Reduces Sentence for Teen Convicted in Killing Orosi Teacher
9 hours ago
Thai Fighter Jet Bombs Cambodian Targets as Border Battle Escalates
9 hours ago

Hoover High School Coach Arrested on Child Pornography Charges

US Justice Department Official Meets Epstein Associate Maxwell

Clovis Police Arrest Two in Mail Theft During Organized Retail Crime Detail

Lara Trump Skips North Carolina US Senate Race, Clears Way for Cooper Versus Whatley
