Schumer Responds to Calls for Him to Step Down as Democratic Senate Leader

‘Sometimes when you’re a leader, you have to do things to avoid a real danger that might come down the curve,’ the longtime Democratic leader said.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) gives a television interview at the U.S. Capitol on March 14, 2025. AP Photo/Ben Curtis

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said on March 23 that he will not step down as the Senate’s Democratic leader amid internal party criticism over his decision to support a Republican-backed funding bill to avoid a government shutdown earlier this month.

“Look, I’m not stepping down,” Schumer said in an interview on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” adding that he knew that voting for the funding measure would trigger “a lot of controversy” among members of his own party.

Schumer then explained the rationale behind his vote. “Sometimes when you’re a leader, you have to do things to avoid a real danger that might come down the curve,” he told the outlet.

“And 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. People disagree.”

Democrats were confronted with two options: allowing passage of a bill that they have said would give President Donald 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 60-vote filibuster threshold, allowing the bill to pass.

The controversy that ensued among Democrats prompted Schumer last week to postpone his book tour amid a series of planned progressive demonstrations.

Several House Democrats, including members of the progressive wing, have been critical of Schumer’s vote and have suggested that he step down.

“The American people are fed up with the old guard, there needs to be a renewal,” Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) told CNN on March 23. “You know, in Silicon Valley, when a company isn’t doing well, you don’t keep the same team.”

“And I think there’s going to be a new generation in this country,” the California Democrat said in response when questioned about whether Schumer should remain leader.

Earlier this month, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) targeted Schumer for saying he would vote to back the bill.

“There is a deep sense of outrage and betrayal,” Ocasio-Cortez told reporters, adding that it “is not just about progressive Democrats,” and accused Schumer of betraying “the entire party.”

Days later, Rep. Glenn Ivey (D-Md.) told NewsNation that he respects Schumer but suggested that “it may be time for Senate Democrats to choose a new leader,” when asked whether Schumer should step down.

In an interview that also aired on Feb. 23 on ABC’s “This Week,” Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), who caucuses with Democrats, criticized Schumer and other members of Democratic leadership in the Senate. But he abruptly ended the interview when asked about Ocasio-Cortez potentially being elected to the Senate, as some pundits have suggested.

“I don’t want to talk about inside-the-beltway stuff,” Sanders said in response to questioning about Schumer’s position.

Meanwhile, Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), a former House speaker, was also counted among those who were critical of Schumer’s vote. “I myself don’t give away anything for nothing,” Pelosi said in response to the decision. “I think that’s what happened the other day.”

“We could have, in my view, perhaps gotten [Republicans] to agree to a third way,” she told reporters in reference to a separate proposal by some Democrats to extend spending by another 30 days to secure more talks with Republicans, who hold majorities in both chambers.

On March 14, the former speaker also released a statement that was critical of the Trump administration and senior presidential adviser Elon Musk, who Pelosi said gave Congress “a false choice” between funding their priorities and a government shutdown.

Schumer isn’t up for reelection until 2028. The other U.S. senator from New York, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), was reelected in the 2024 election and isn’t up for reelection until 2030.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.