Once again, House progressives are arguing that Senate Democratic Minority Leader Chuck Schumer must be replaced . . . but they have no way of forcing that to happen.
It’s time for another flare-up of congressional Democrats griping about their leader Chuck Schumer. We saw it in March and November. The bad news for these grumbling Democrats — some on the record, some off the record — is that nothing has changed in terms of the obstacles to replacing him.
The case against Schumer has no lack of supporting arguments; as I wrote back in November, “Let’s concede that Schumer, who turns 75 later this month, is the embodiment of old school Establishment Democrats. He’s usually a weak communicator; he’s got a nasal, hectoring voice and he does not look inspiring or vigorous with his slumped shoulders and glasses perched at the end of his nose. He’s led the Democrats in the Senate since 2016, and you can easily make a case that it’s time for some new blood.”
The problem is that progressives would need an alternative Democratic senator who A) wants the job and B) can convince a majority of the caucus to back him or her. Most of the biggest names in the caucus have their eyes set on another job; late last year, I noted that almost 20 percent of the Senate Democratic caucus is reportedly contemplating running for president in 2028, although since then Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar has decided to run for governor.
In fact, one of the loudest voices of the dump-Schumer movement argued last fall that they can’t mention or talk up any potential replacements, because that would hurt their chances of replacing him:
KRISTEN WELKER: So who is the person who you think should lead Democrats into the future in the Senate? Who’s at the top of that list for you, Congressman?
REP. RO KHANNA: Well, Senator Kaine’s already given me a hard time for just saying that the minority leader should be someone different. I think if I endorsed someone it would probably hurt them more than help them. But we have dynamic young, new leaders–
WELKER: Who are some of the top names–
REP. RO KHANNA: Chris Murphy is a top leader. Cory Booker is a dynamic leader. Brian Schatz is a dynamic leader. I mean, Elizabeth Warren is someone whose ideology I appreciate. There are a lot of great talent – and really, when you think about it, just from a common sense test, do you think Democrats around the country think that Chuck Schumer should be the face of the future of the Democratic Party? Of course not. And I just said out loud what people are thinking in their own private thoughts. You know what the Democrats need to do? We need be more independent and truth-telling in this country and bold and not rest on niceties.
Connecticut Senator Chris Murphy wants to run for president. New Jersey Senator Cory Booker wants to run for president (again). Elizabeth Warren turns 77 in June, older than Schumer. Maybe Senator Brian Schatz would be an interested option, but he’s not terribly well-known nationwide. So for now, this is just another round of progressive Democratic House members blowing off steam.
You can argue that Schumer is playing a weak hand badly, but a new leader would still have that same weak hand.