Liberal group calls for Schumer to step down as minority leader after spending bill vote

The liberal organizing group Indivisible said Saturday it was calling for Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer to step down from his leadership role, the latest fallout after he backed a GOP bill to keep the government open.

The group’s call is the latest sign of just how much Schumer’s decision to vote for a Republican bill Friday has angered a Democratic grassroots itching for a fight with President Donald Trump.

Many Democrats saw a potential government shutdown as one of the party’s sole points of leverage on the government funding bill as Trump and Elon Musk have moved to shutter programs and cancel spending previously allocated by Congress. But Schumer and a handful of Democrats aligned with him argued doing so would only give the pair more power, and that the consequences of a shutdown would be worse than the bill.

Still, Schumer’s decision roiled Democrats who noted the party had been near-united in the House in opposing it. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries deflected Friday when asked whether he had lost confidence in Schumer, while saying his conversation with the fellow New York Democrat would remain private.

The statement from Indivisible, which launched during Trump’s first administration, is a sign that the anger among Democrats extends beyond the halls of Congress. In a Saturday release, Indivisible said 82 percent of its leaders in New York and 91 percent nationwide had voted to call for Schumer to step aside.

“After weeks of constituents demanding that Democrats use this rare, precious point of leverage on the government funding bill, Schumer did the opposite,” the group’s co-executive director Ezra Levin said in the release. “He led the charge to wave the white flag of surrender. But Indivisible has no intention of surrendering to Trump, Musk, and congressional Republicans.”

A Schumer spokesperson did not immediately respond Saturday evening to an inquiry about Indivisible’s call. But Schumer, asked about possible calls for new leadership in the Senate on Thursday, acknowledged he had made a “tough choice,” adding: “You have to make these decisions based on what is best for not only your party but your country, and I firmly believe and always have that I’ve made the right decision.