Democratic Rep. Glenn Ivey has sparked a political firestorm by publicly suggesting that Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer should be replaced. This marks the first time a Democrat in Congress has openly called for Schumer’s ousting, setting off waves of speculation and debate within the party.
During a town hall in Forestville, Maryland, Ivey, who represents a district with a significant number of federal workers, made his stance clear. "I respect Chuck Schumer," he stated. "He’s had a great, long-standing career. But I’m afraid that it may be time for the Senate Democrats to get a new leader."
His comments come after Schumer played a key role in passing a Republican-crafted spending plan that many Democrats opposed. While Ivey and nearly all House Democrats voted against the bill, Schumer and nine other Senate Democrats—along with an independent who caucuses with them—helped push the GOP's stopgap bill forward. That decision has left many within the party fuming, and the backlash has been swift.
Schumer, for his part, has defended his decision, arguing that it was necessary to prevent Medicaid and other critical federal funding from being shut down by former President Donald Trump’s administration. He maintains that allowing the government to shut down would have been an even worse outcome, given that the executive branch would have had complete control over what remained funded. "During a shutdown, the executive branch has absolute power to determine what is essential," he explained, warning that this would have handed fiscal decision-making entirely to what he described as an administration full of "antigovernment fanatics" and "vicious nihilists."
Despite Schumer’s justifications, many in the Democratic ranks are not buying it. Progressive groups, grassroots activists, and party loyalists have lashed out, accusing him of essentially handing Trump and his cost-cutting ally Elon Musk unchecked control over government spending for the remainder of the fiscal year. Some Democrats were reportedly so outraged that they even encouraged Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez—who had called Schumer’s vote a "tremendous mistake"—to challenge him in a primary election.
Rep. Jasmine Crockett stopped short of calling for Schumer’s resignation but suggested that Senate Democrats need to have a serious conversation about whether he remains the right leader at this critical moment. "They should sit down and take a look and decide whether or not Chuck Schumer is the one to lead in this moment," she told CNN.
Axios reported that even as House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries has been working behind the scenes to bolster support for Schumer, discontent within the caucus remains high. One Democratic lawmaker, speaking anonymously, delivered a stinging critique, stating that Schumer's popularity was "hovering somewhere between Elon Musk and the Ebola virus."
The criticism didn’t just come from rank-and-file members. Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi also expressed her frustration, suggesting that Schumer had surrendered leverage for "nothing." However, she stopped short of withdrawing her support for his leadership.
Meanwhile, polling data has provided fresh ammunition to Schumer’s detractors. A Quinnipiac poll released last week found that 32% of respondents would blame Democrats for a government shutdown, while a combined 53% would blame Republicans—31% for congressional Republicans and 22% for Trump himself. This indicates that Democrats may not have needed to concede as much as Schumer believed to avoid political fallout.
The liberal grassroots group Indivisible has also joined the calls for Schumer to step aside. "I think the response to that will be widespread acclaim and appreciation, a resurgence of energy behind the Democratic Party, and a belief that they’re actually taking seriously the concerns of rank-and-file members," Indivisible founder Ezra Levin told The Christian Science Monitor. "In the absence of that, I think the party has a serious fracture."
Feeling the heat, Schumer has been on a media blitz to defend his leadership. He even canceled a planned book tour to focus on damage control. "I’m the best leader for the Senate," he insisted in an interview with CBS News. Later, on ABC’s "The View," he doubled down: "I should be the leader."
Speaking with MSNBC, Schumer acknowledged that he knew his decision would be unpopular. "I knew when I made this decision I’d get a lot of flak," he admitted. "I’m a smart politician, I can read what people want." Yet, despite the criticism, he argued that the stopgap funding measure was a necessary evil, calling it a "terrible bill" but maintaining that a shutdown would have been "20 times worse."
Schumer’s strategy moving forward seems to be focused on lowering Trump’s approval rating, believing that if the former president’s numbers drop below 40%, Republican lawmakers will be more willing to cooperate with Democrats. "When he went below 40% in the polls during his first administration, the Republican legislators started working with us," Schumer told The New York Times.
Recent polling data suggests the Democratic Party itself is facing significant challenges. An NBC News poll found that the party has just a 27% favorability rating, while a CNN poll showed a similar 29% approval. However, RealClearPolitics’ aggregate polling on the generic congressional ballot offers a glimmer of hope, with three out of five recent surveys showing Democrats leading, one showing a slim Republican advantage, and another reflecting a dead heat.
This indicates that, despite internal turmoil, Democrats could be positioned to make gains in the 2026 midterms. If they can regain control of both houses of Congress, they would have significantly more leverage against a Republican-controlled executive branch.
For now, the Democratic Party finds itself at a crossroads. The question is whether it will rally behind Schumer or choose a new leader who aligns more closely with its progressive base. With tensions running high and the stakes higher than ever, the battle over Senate leadership is far from over.
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