Rep. Glenn Ivey (D-MD) hammered Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) during a Tuesday town hall and called for new leadership for the Democratic Party.
“I thought it was critical to make sure that we block that bill,” Ivey said of the GOP’s bill to continue funding the government, largely at the same level as under President Joe Biden.
“I was deeply disappointed that Senator Schumer voted with the Republicans. You know you’re on bad ground when you get a personal tweet from Donald Trump thanking you for your vote,” Ivey continued, adding:
We don’t want to be there. We don’t want to be there. And it’s important for us to make sure that, at this critical time, we’ve got leaders that are gonna take us in the right direction. We had Hakeem Jeffries lead the fight against the CR to the tune of 213 to one.
Schumer was on the other side. Hakeem met the moment Schumer did not. And so I respect Chuck Schumer. I think he’s had a great long-standing career. He’s done a lot of great things. But I’m afraid that it may be time for the Senate Democrats to pick new leadership as we move forward.
Schumer furiously defended his vote on various news programs this week, including telling CBS Mornings that a shutdown would have emboldened the Project 2025-inspired downsizing of the federal government while disabling the courts – the Democrats’ one lever to stop Trump’s agenda.
Schumer said that “one of the Republican senators who knows said to us, ‘you’ll be in the shutdown for six to nine months until we totally destroy the federal government.’ So the shutdown was a much worse alternative.”
Ivey wasn’t the only House Democrat to call for Schumer to step down this week, Axios reported:
Rep. Delia Ramirez (D-Ill.), asked at a town hall on Tuesday whether Schumer should “retire or step down,” nodded her head and said “yes.” Ramirez’s comments have not previously been reported.
The liberal group Indivisible has also called on Schumer to resign as leader.
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One House Democrat, asked if more could follow, told Axios: “I think there are some already there but just haven’t been asked directly or avoided the question.”
Watch the clip above.