Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer stated on Tuesday that he believes he is the “best leader for the Senate” despite facing criticism from some Democrats for his choice to allow a Republican-led measure to pass, thus averting a government shutdown.
“We have a lot of great individuals,” Schumer declared on “CBS Mornings.” “But I am the most effective at securing Senate seats.”
Last week, Schumer initially indicated that his caucus would resist a partisan effort to maintain government funding. However, just a day later, he reluctantly committed to moving forward with the continuing resolution, casting one of the crucial Democratic votes needed for its passage. This decision has sparked frustration among some in his party and raised questions about his leadership, yet Schumer has consistently defended his choice.
“I anticipated there would be significant pushback when I took this vote, but I felt it was essential for the future, not just of the Democratic Party but of the nation,” Schumer explained, noting that “as problematic as that CR bill was — and it was indeed problematic — a shutdown is exponentially worse.”
He stated that a shutdown would have handed “exclusive control” to the executive branch and Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency in determining what remained open and closed, warning that “within two weeks, everyone would have been crying out.”
The New York Democrat shared that he and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries had planned to pursue a bipartisan bill to ensure government funding. However, they did not foresee that the House Republican leadership would manage to unify its conference to support the partisan continuing resolution — a challenging feat that contradicted typical political trends, with conservatives who generally oppose continuing resolutions aligning with their party in favor of the measure.
Schumer asserted that a “shutdown would have been a catastrophic failure,” placing the government in the hands of “malevolent, destructive, nihilistic individuals” like Musk, President Trump, and OMB Director Russ Vought.
“We would have ended up with only half the federal government we currently have,” Schumer said. “Therefore, I believed I was fulfilling the responsibilities of a leader: Even when others fail to recognize the peril ahead, my duty was to warn them — and I was aware that I would face backlash.”
When addressing concerns about his leadership, Schumer emphasized that he is not stepping aside, citing his record of winning Senate seats, notably in 2021, when Democrats achieved a majority in the upper chamber with two unexpected runoff victories in Georgia. Schumer has been in Congress since 1981, initially representing New York in the House before being elected to the Senate in 1998. He has led the Democrats in the Senate since 2017.
Schumer noted that Democrats are countering the Trump administration with a message highlighting how GOP leaders aim to “harm every average American to benefit the wealthy,” stating that the strategy is “starting to gain traction.”
“If we persist with daily, relentless efforts to demonstrate how they are harming people so significantly, Trump’s approval ratings will decline, as will both his popularity and effectiveness,” Schumer asserted. “I am confident that this strategy will succeed.”
Tuesday’s interview occurred a day after Schumer postponed events to promote his book, “Antisemitism in America: A Warning,” this week, citing security concerns following the backlash over his decision to fund the government. He had planned several events this week across Maryland, New York City, Washington, D.C., Pennsylvania, and California.
Schumer mentioned that he wrote the book for various audiences — including his “friends on the left.” He acknowledged that while “antisemitism has always been present on the right,” there has recently been “a significant amount that has seeped over to the left.”
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