A defense of Chuck Shumer
Published 12:07 p.m. yesterday
Chuck Schumer triggered a wave of anger by voting to keep the government open. Claiming betrayal, the senator’s critics called for a new and more hardline leader to assume Schumer’s position. Their frustration was understandable, but the wiser course of action for Democrats would be to allow Schumer to continue as Democratic Senate Leader.
Justifiably outraged by Trump’s atrocious behavior, many Democrats favored taking an aggressive stand by shutting down the government. Schumer balked at this demand, and younger Democrats in particular responded by calling to defenestrate him. The problem is that Schumer had sound reasons for keeping the government open. As he rightly argued, federal statute would have given Trump enormous leeway—almost carte blanche—to shut down the operations of the federal government in the event of a shutdown. The carnage would have been devastating—and we know that Trump and Musk are capable of it.
In light of the likely consequences, Schumer showed real courage in voting to prevent a wave of damage. Acceding to Democrats’ desire for a shutdown would not have been craven. The Trump administration’s grotesque cruelty and incompetence do warrant a strong response. But Schumer showed a wise capacity to set priorities. The time for confrontation has not expired, and preventing Elon Musk from potentially taking food assistance away from families making $11,000 a year was the more urgent imperative at the moment.
Furthermore, Schumer is no dinosaur. He is not the sort of “90s centrist” progressives would like to purge from the party. In fact, Schumer recently took a stand that should have inspired applause from younger progressives. Despite being the most prominent Jewish politician in the country, Schumer outright called for Netanyahu’s ouster over the ghastly assault on Gaza. That stance should produce gratitude from those of us in the Millennial generation who abhor Netanyahu’s brutality.
Schumer is a member of the liberal wing of his party, then. He has indeed been molded by Washington for many years, but that legislative experience has trained him to advance liberal priorities. As Majority Leader, he got big bills through a 50-50 Senate that achieved important liberal objectives. Democrats should not assume that even a talented successor would be able to thread the needle so assiduously.
Keeping Schumer would be unsatisfying at a time when Democrats across the country want to fight. But the criticisms of him are largely unfair—and replacing him would be impulsive. Democrats should demand more confrontation from Schumer at the right moment, but the Senator’s shutdown vote should not end his leadership career. He’s still the right person to lead Senate Democrats.
Justifiably outraged by Trump’s atrocious behavior, many Democrats favored taking an aggressive stand by shutting down the government. Schumer balked at this demand, and younger Democrats in particular responded by calling to defenestrate him. The problem is that Schumer had sound reasons for keeping the government open. As he rightly argued, federal statute would have given Trump enormous leeway—almost carte blanche—to shut down the operations of the federal government in the event of a shutdown. The carnage would have been devastating—and we know that Trump and Musk are capable of it.
In light of the likely consequences, Schumer showed real courage in voting to prevent a wave of damage. Acceding to Democrats’ desire for a shutdown would not have been craven. The Trump administration’s grotesque cruelty and incompetence do warrant a strong response. But Schumer showed a wise capacity to set priorities. The time for confrontation has not expired, and preventing Elon Musk from potentially taking food assistance away from families making $11,000 a year was the more urgent imperative at the moment.
Furthermore, Schumer is no dinosaur. He is not the sort of “90s centrist” progressives would like to purge from the party. In fact, Schumer recently took a stand that should have inspired applause from younger progressives. Despite being the most prominent Jewish politician in the country, Schumer outright called for Netanyahu’s ouster over the ghastly assault on Gaza. That stance should produce gratitude from those of us in the Millennial generation who abhor Netanyahu’s brutality.
Schumer is a member of the liberal wing of his party, then. He has indeed been molded by Washington for many years, but that legislative experience has trained him to advance liberal priorities. As Majority Leader, he got big bills through a 50-50 Senate that achieved important liberal objectives. Democrats should not assume that even a talented successor would be able to thread the needle so assiduously.
Keeping Schumer would be unsatisfying at a time when Democrats across the country want to fight. But the criticisms of him are largely unfair—and replacing him would be impulsive. Democrats should demand more confrontation from Schumer at the right moment, but the Senator’s shutdown vote should not end his leadership career. He’s still the right person to lead Senate Democrats.
Alexander H. Jones is a Policy Analyst with Carolina Forward. He lives in Carrboro. Have feedback? Reach him at alex@carolinaforward.org.
