Sanders Opposes Schumer as Senate Democratic Leader

Bernie Sanders said Tuesday he will not support Chuck Schumer for another term as Senate Democratic leader, turning a call for change after the midterm elections into a direct challenge to the New York senator’s leadership.

“I personally have known Chuck Schumer for over 30 years, and I like Chuck. Nobody who works harder than Chuck Schumer,” Sanders told reporters at the Capitol. “But in my view, the time is now for change, and I will not be supporting Chuck to be re-elected as the Democratic leader.”

Sanders, an independent from Vermont who caucuses with Democrats, said the election showed voters wanted a new direction. He pointed to people struggling to pay for food, health care and housing while worrying that their children could have a lower standard of living. “While all of this is going on, the billionaire class has never ever had it so good,” he said, according to CBS News.

Democrats will hold at least 54 Senate seats when the 120th Congress convenes in January, CBS News reported. Sanders called for “a vigorous debate about the direction of the Democratic Party,” saying it should take place openly so voters can see that their ballots brought “a new direction in Washington.”

Michigan Sen. Elissa Slotkin, appearing alongside Sanders, said anyone seeking to lead the caucus should explain how they would govern differently, what they would do in the first 100 days to put money in people’s pockets and how they would change the party’s communication. She said she was “not actively seeking this job” but was “seeking change.”

“Whoever wants my vote is going to have to show me a concrete plan that’s definitively different,” Slotkin said. “I’m a no until and unless I see that from anyone.”

No candidate has formally stepped forward to challenge Schumer. Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen, who initially said he would not pursue the post, is now exploring a run, according to CBS News. “We shouldn’t have a coronation,” he said Monday. On Tuesday, he said he was calling colleagues because the leadership decision rests with the Democratic caucus.

The Guardian reported that several incoming Democratic senators have also called for new leadership: Abdul El-Sayed of Michigan, Adam Hamilton of Kansas, Annie Andrews of South Carolina, Chris Pappas of New Hampshire, Troy Jackson of Maine and Peggy Flanagan of Minnesota. El-Sayed defeated a Schumer-backed Democrat for his party’s nomination, the newspaper reported.

Schumer, who has led Senate Democrats since 2017, remains confident he will win another term, according to The Guardian. “I’m confident I will be elected majority leader,” he told reporters Tuesday, saying the caucus was united on lowering costs, ending corruption and chaos, and ending the war. “We have great unity in our caucus and I will be proud to lead it as majority leader.”

Democrats are expected to hold their leadership elections in early December, CBS News reported.