Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called himself the “best” candidate to lead Senate Democrats after his colleagues spent days criticizing him for voting for a Republican government funding bill.
“I’m the best leader for the Senate. I am the best at winning Senate seats. I did it in 2005. Just in 2020, no one thought we’d take back the Senate. Under my leadership, we took it,” the senator stated on CBS Tuesday morning.
Schumer’s claim of being able to revive the Democratic Party was met by a harsh reality check from CBS anchor Gayle King, who reminded Schumer that under his leadership, the people have lost faith in his party. (RELATED: ‘It’s Time For You To Go’: CBS Anchors Tell Chuck Schumer Point-Blank His Party No Longer Trusts His Leadership)
“Senator, people don’t have faith in the Democrats,” King said.
Under Schumer’s leadership of the Senate Democratic Caucus since 2017, and role of Senate Majority Leader from 2021 to 2025, Democrats have only won an outright Senate majority once.
In addition to losing both the executive and legislative branches in November, the favorability of the Democratic Party has fallen to record lows.
The knives have come out for Schumer since he helped pass the Republican funding bill to avert a government shutdown over the weekend.
Most notably, Democratic New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez insisted that Schumer’s run in the political arena must come to an end.
“Schumer has been in politics for a long time, and I would hope that this is his final term, and he opens it up for someone new,” Ocasio-Cortez said.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, a fellow New Yorker, voted against the same budget proposal Schumer voted in favor of last week.
The day after Schumer’s vote, Jeffries refused to answer a question during a press conference on whether Schumer should still hold his leadership position.
Following Jeffries’ press conference, Schumer canceled a pre-planned tour for the release of his new book as he came under fire from his colleagues. Jeffries said the “far-right” funding bill would “unleash havoc” from President Donald Trump and Elon Musk. (RELATED: Sen. Chuck Schumer Pulls Plug On Book Tour Events After Civil War Sparks Inside His Own Party)
Schumer responded to the attacks by stating that he is the right man to lead the party.
Today, the Senate will vote on legislation that will make an important DC funding fix.
This legislation will make sure that we take care of the residents of the district—it will support law enforcement and firefighters and teachers and basic city services.
This legislation is…
— Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) March 14, 2025
“I thought I did the thing a leader should do. Even when people don’t see the danger around the curve, my job was to alert people to it, and I knew I’d get some bullets,” he said.
Despite the backlash, Schumer told King that he doesn’t plan to step down.
“No, no. We’re moving forward. Hakeem and I have a plan,” Schumer stated.
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