Democrats Are Hating on Schumer, But Are They Stuck With Him as Leader for Years?

Nothing is more popular in the Democratic Party right now than hating on Chuck Schumer. Ed discussed why earlier today, and how badly he is viewed later today. 

Of course, hating on Congressional leadership is a bipartisan sport. Ask Mitch McConnell, who kept the job for years despite being despised by almost everybody in the base of the party. Or Paul Ryan, or Kevin McCarthy, or… Probably the last leader of a caucus who was well-liked was Tip O’Neill, whom I would wager almost nobody in either party remembers, mostly because those of us who could do so are either old or dead. 

Democrats went from “Republicans control the House, Senate, and White House. Only they can end the shutdown” to “How dare Chuck Schumer allow 8 Democrats to end the shutdown.”

Do I have that right?

— Bad Hombre (@joma_gc) November 11, 2025

Still, Schumer may be a special case right now, because in addition to having just led the Democrats into a disastrous and useless government shutdown that lasted longer than any previous one, it accomplished even less than most in political or policy terms. Not that government shutdowns ever really work for the parties that start them. 

If you want a new Senate Democratic leader on the younger side, that rules out another bunch. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut turns 80 in February. Ed Markey of Massachusetts is facing a primary challenge and is 79. Mazie Hirono of Hawaii just turned 78. Peter Welch of Vermont…

— Jim Geraghty (@jimgeraghty) November 11, 2025

So there is a lot of talk in Democratic Party circles about replacing him with…a player to be named later. 

Which is Jim Geraghty’s point in his newsletter today. Democrats have a distinct dearth of potential replacements, although I am not as confident as he is that Democratic Senators who are contemplating running for president wouldn’t also want to be Senate Minority Leader in the hopes of rising even further. 

Democrats went from “Republicans control the House, Senate, and White House. Only they can end the shutdown” to “How dare Chuck Schumer allow 8 Democrats to end the shutdown.”

Do I have that right?

— Bad Hombre (@joma_gc) November 11, 2025

It’s never happened before, although Lyndon Johnson had been the leader of the Senate when chosen to be Vice President, he didn’t run for president from that position. 

In any case, Geraghty argues that the Democrats have a big problem when it comes to choosing a replacement for Schumer, so it is likely he will survive this kerfuffle. 

…okay, progressive grassroots, let’s concede that Schumer, who turns 75 later this month, is the embodiment of old school Establishment Democrats. He’s usually a weak communicator; he’s got a nasal, hectoring voice and he does not look inspiring or vigorous with his slumped shoulders and glasses perched at the end of his nose. He’s led the Democrats in the Senate since 2016, and you can easily make a case that it’s time for some new blood.

One problem for Democrats is that just about everybody in their current Senate leadership is similarly old and uninspiring. The current whip is Dick Durbin of Illinois, who voted to reopen the government and turns 81 later this month. Conference vice chair Elizabeth Warren is 76 and in her third term. Fellow vice chair Mark Warner is 70 and he is in his third term. The Senate Democratic Outreach chair is . . . er, 84-year-old Bernie Sanders.

Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin, secretary of the caucus, is the young one, at age 63.

So, who do you want to replace Schumer, progressives?

(One reason to doubt that Schumer will be knocked off his perch anytime soon is the lack of buzz around any other Democratic senator as an alternative.)

Keep in mind, a significant chunk of the Democratic Senate caucus is thinking of running for president in 2028. Almost all of them have no chance, but that’s not going to stop them. Some of them ran in 2020 and got nowhere, and they’re still not deterred. Apparently, Cory Booker of New Jersey, Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, and Kirsten Gillibrand of New York are all thinking about it, believing that Democratic primary voters will say, “Oh, we made a terrible mistake last time. We should have nominated you now.”

Chuck Schumer is Senate Minority Leader because it is like herding cats to get a caucus with diverse interests to agree on who else it should be. Generally speaking, you won’t find firebrands in the position because enough people would object, and if one were to get in, they would constantly sacrifice the electoral interests of some group or another for ideological reasons. 

Leading a party in the Senate is not about pounding the table and emoting; it’s about knowing your caucus well and knowing what legislation they can support and which bills will give them grief back home. It’s about building relationships with senators, both in your own party, and the opposition. And the job really ought to be more about persuasion, not about “fighting.” If you define “fighting” as angrily denouncing the opposition, any old schmuck can fight.

Schumer, in this case, managed to keep the shutdown going far longer than the “moderates” in the caucus wanted. His argument was political—hold out until after the elections. The Senators who voted to end the filibuster would have ended it weeks ago, except his pleas convinced them. When the election was over, they did what they told him they would do. 

He got what he wanted, and what progressives wanted, longer than you would expect. Trump was never going to move, and everybody knew it. 

Still, it’s possible that a coalition could be built to oust him even without a consensus candidate—it happened in the House not so long ago, when McCarthy was booted. But look how long and painful the process was, and how disappointed so many base Republicans are with the current state of affairs. 

It’s in the nature of the job. Elizabeth Warren wouldn’t survive long. Maybe Corey Booker could, and maybe not. He has been auditioning for president, after all, but that begs the question: why would he want to HURT his chances to rise to the presidency by taking a job that inevitably will lead to disappointing the base? 

Schumer isn’t up for reelection until 2028, so it’s quite possible that the job will continue to default to him. He kinda sucks at it and is a horrible communicator. 

But really, what other choice is there who could take the slot and who would want it?

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