Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat, has sparked outrage after voting to allow a Republican continuing resolution (CR) funding bill to proceed on Friday, with thousands signing a Democrat petition urging the leader to resign.
Why It Matters
Schumer’s support for a stopgap funding bill on Friday has sparked widespread Democratic criticism, including from former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California.
The top Senate Democrat’s support for the bill’s passage, which he shared with nine other members of the chamber’s Democratic Caucus, avoided a government shutdown, but was viewed as a betrayal by many in his party. Democrats viewed the impending shutdown as a point of leverage against President Donald Trump and Republicans, who control both chambers of Congress.
What to Know
Charlotte Clymer, a Democratic operative, started a Change.org petition this week after Schumer said he would support moving the funding bill forward. Those who sign the petition have pledged not to make any donations to official Democratic organizations until Schumer steps down as Senate minority leader.
“We, the undersigned, completely reject Mr. Schumer’s approach of appeasement in response to the deeply irresponsible, dangerous, and cruel attacks by Trump and Elon Musk on the American people,” the title of the petition states.
It continues: “Until Senate Democrats force Mr. Schumer to resign as Minority Leader, we will not give a dime to any Senate Democrat, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, the Democratic National Committee, or any other organization or committee that financially supports any Senate Democrat.” Enough is enough. We need new leadership to deal with this critical situation, and we need it now.
As of Saturday afternoon, the petition had 16,568 signatures.
Clymer stated that anger toward Schumer appears to be uniting Democrats.
“I have not seen such uniting anger across the party in a long, long time,” she told Politico. “Sen. Schumer has managed to unite us far more than Trump has in recent months.”
In an email to Newsweek on Saturday, Clymer stated that while she is “grateful” for Schumer’s past leadership, “it has become abundantly clear that he is not the leader for this moment.”
She went further: “We are hurtling down a slippery slope, and it appears Leader Schumer is pushing in all our chips on a stack of assumptions that are mostly based on a presumption of good faith in Trump and the Republican Party, which, to date, has been entirely absent.”
According to Politico, the progressive political action committee Justice Democrats sent out a text message titled “F*** Chuck Schumer,” demonstrating their outrage at the Senate minority leader.
Some angry New Yorkers vented their rage on a Brooklyn community Facebook group for a neighborhood near Schumer’s home.
“Hi, did you know Chuck Schumer lives in our neighborhood? “Well, nearby,” one user wrote in a Friday post seen by Newsweek. The poster then provided the address of Schumer’s building. “So if you’re out walking your dog in the park, you know where to drop off the poop bags.”
The New York Democrat said Friday that his support would protect the federal government from further damage caused by Trump and billionaire Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) adviser Elon Musk. Schumer stated that a shutdown would allow them to step up their efforts to cut spending across federal agencies.
“Certainly, the Republican bill is a terrible option. It is strongly partisan. It does not meet this country’s needs. Even if the White House says otherwise, Mr. Trump and Elon Musk support a shutdown. We shouldn’t give them one. The risk of allowing the president to gain even more power through a government shutdown is far worse,” he wrote in a Friday opinion piece for The New York Times.
DOGE, under Musk’s leadership, has attempted to make widespread cuts across the government. Thousands of federal employees have been laid off, and many of the Trump administration’s actions have been challenged in court.
What People Are Saying
Senator John Fetterman, a Democrat from Pennsylvania, stated on X, formerly Twitter, on Friday that his YES vote is “not” an endorsement of this deeply flawed CR. My YES vote is [100 percent emoji] for refusing to shut down the government.
I refuse to punish working families or throw millions of Americans into chaos. I will never, ever, ever vote to shut down the government.”
On X on Friday, Representative Ro Khanna, a California Democrat, stated: “When the Senate Minority Leader sells you out, the only option is to take back the party and country with grassroots activists in blue and red districts [sic] to stand up for the Constitution and our democracy.”
The problem with Schumer’s actions, like Lucy taking the ball away every time Charlie Brown kicks it, is that it makes all Congressional Democrats appear feckless and undermines trust.”
On Truth Social on Friday, President Donald Trump said, “Congratulations to Chuck Schumer for doing the right thing—it took ‘guts’ and courage! The major tax cuts, the Los Angeles fire fix, the debt ceiling bill, and much more are on the way.
We should all work together to address that very dangerous situation. A no pass would be a disaster for the country, whereas approval would propel us forward. Senator Schumer once again made a wise and effective decision.”
Charlotte Clymer told Newsweek on Saturday that “this is not a problem of our party; it’s a problem of our party leadership.” The Democratic Party has so much outstanding potential. What we need is new leadership.
What Happens Next?
Trump signed the CR Saturday morning.
Schumer has so far ignored the criticism, and whether he is pressured by colleagues to step down remains to be seen. Some close allies have publicly defended him, but others have remained silent or critical.
Many in the party are urging Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a New York Democrat, to run against Schumer for reelection. However, that will not happen until 2028.
