I'm a Brooklynite. Chuck Schumer is my senator. And I am telling you, I am absolutely appalled and embarrassed to be represented by such a feckless and clueless legislator who is our nation’s Democratic Senate leader.
We just watched him do it again: capitulate to the Republicans, who are ripping to shreds our democracy, right in front of our faces.
What’s particularly galling about this most recent capitulation—caving on the government shutdown—is that the Democrats clearly had the upper hand. Every reputable poll showed the country correctly blamed the Republicans and Donald Trump for the shutdown. The recent election results showed the absolute anger the American people have for Trump's fascist regime. We had the wind at our backs, and Schumer still found a way to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.
To make matters worse, we have to watch the supposedly "strong" leaders in our party fall in line. My own congressman, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, did the right thing during the fight—he held steadfast against any compromise that didn't include a commitment to restoring the healthcare subsidies. But now? He says he "stands by Schumer" and supports his leadership. It shows that the entire Democratic leadership circle is either clueless or cowardly, unwilling to hold even each other accountable for catastrophic failures.
As a constituent, I am finished with the excuses. Schumer is not the person we need for this fight. He is not the leader for this moment. He must resign, or we, the voters of New York, must primary him. Period.
Let’s not forget that critical window when Democrats held the majority during the first half of the Biden administration. We all knew what the priority should have been: voting rights and protecting the very foundation of our democracy. Where was the fight to the death for the John Lewis Voting Rights Act? When our republic was on the line, we needed a fighter who would use every ounce of leverage.
Instead, we got... Schumer. He let that once-in-a-generation opportunity to shore up our democracy slip through his fingers.
And now that he's facing the second Trump administration, he's even worse. His weakness set the tone from the very beginning. Back in March, during the first government funding confrontation, he caved. He voted to break a Democratic filibuster on a partisan continuing resolution, a move that badly damaged the legal argument against Trump's imperial budget-making. He set a precedent of weakness, and he's followed it ever since.
He desperately wants to believe that this is just an ordinary political negotiation while the other side is busy with a constitutional power grab. He’s treating a five-alarm fire like a burnt-out match. When Trump claims total power over the federal budget—a power grab likened to that of an absolute monarch—Schumer shows he’s inept at leading any real opposition. He is the kind of appeaser any authoritarian dreams of facing, and he has been surrendering our leverage for years.
It’s fair to ask where his loyalty lies: with the multiethnic, working-class coalition he leads, or with donor interests and his own political convictions.
This is, after all, the man who voted to repeal Glass-Steagall, the crucial law separating risky investment banking from protected public savings. He raises countless millions of dollars from the same financial interests that crashed our economy.
We just saw this disloyalty right here in New York City. In our own mayoral election, Zohran Mamdani, an extremely popular, progressive Democrat, won the primary fair and square. He mobilized a multiethnic coalition and won a clear mandate. And what did our "leader" Schumer, do? He refused to endorse his own party’s nominee. He was silent. When reporters asked him who he voted for, he dodged the question.
But even bigger an issue than New York’s mayoral race, is the state of our democracy, which is clearly on the line. The moment our elected leaders demonstrate they are willing to make concessions to someone as grossly unfit as Trump, then, by default, they become unfit too.
Our current Senate Democratic leader has proven time and time again he is no longer the person for this job. Therefore, Chuck Schumer must step aside. If he refuses, then we must, without hesitation, primary him.
Reginald Richardson, a Brooklyn resident, is a constituent of New York's 8th Congressional District.
