Sanders, Slotkin won’t back Schumer as Senate Democratic leader

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Sen. Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.) said they won’t be supporting Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) as leader of the incoming Democratic majority in the Senate.

Sanders, a former presidential candidate and leader of progressives in the Senate, said Schumer had not been doing enough to end income and wealth inequality.

“I don’t want to get into specific proposals, but I think the time and the moment when you have more income and wealth inequality than we’ve ever had in the history of this country, when our younger generation were on the lowest standard of living than their parents, the time is now to deal with the need to create an economy that works for all, not just the people on top,” Sanders said in response to a question about Schumer.

“Do I think Chuck has been leading in that direction? No.” he said.

Slotkin, at the same press conference, said she was “seeking change.”

She is calling for any leader to put out a plan of what they would do with the first 100 days and beyond on issues like artificial intelligence. She called for her colleagues to withhold quorum on a leader vote, if there is only one candidate, until such a plan materializes.

“We need leadership that’s going to govern for the entirety of the caucus, for folks from blue states, purple states and red states,” said Slotkin, who is seen by some as a possible presidential candidate in 2028.

Sanders said he and Slotkin had just come from a meeting with Schumer where the current minority leader articulated some ideas for such plans, but Sanders said that did not go far enough. Both said they hoped for a competitive leader election.

The announcement comes as Senate Democrats are brewing over whether to reappoint Schumer or back a challenger. Schumer has maintained that he is confident he will win, as have other Democrats, but progressive groups and some incoming freshmen senators have called for new leadership.

Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) is seen as one potential challenger, and he has flip-flopped on a run in recent days. He said Monday night that he is “in listening mode” on whether to run after hearing from many people who want him to do so.

Slotkin said she and Van Hollen had “a really productive conversation” on Monday but declined to directly endorse him, repeating that she wants a concrete and different governing plan from any candidate.

She criticized the caucus for not having expressed more of a plan of how to govern and what to do in the two years since she entered the Senate.

“I acknowledge that I had conversations with Senator Van Hollen yesterday because I have a point of view,” Slotkin said. “I’ve sat in that room and tried to figure out what our plan was for two years, and I think maybe it’s because I come from a national security background, you can’t lead people if you can’t lay out where you’re going, and it may be one thing when you’re in the minority, but it’s very different when it’s now your responsibility to deliver.”

The lukewarm sentiment on Schumer includes some of the incoming crop of Senate Democrats.

Sen.-elect Abdul El-Sayed (D-Mich.) said again earlier this week he would back Van Hollen over Schumer. Sen.-elect Annie Andrews (D-S.C.) said Friday that she wants “generational change” in Senate leadership, after pledging during the campaign not to support Schumer. Sens.-elect Adam Hamilton (D-Kansas) and Troy Jackson (D-Maine) have said the same.

Other prominent voices in the party have declined to give Schumer their support, including fellow New Yorker Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D), who said Tuesday that Schumer’s future is up to the Senate but reiterated that the calls for new leadership “are a sentiment that is seen in a lot of places.”

Ocasio-Cortez does not have a say in Schumer’s election as leader but does represent a younger and more progressive wing of the party, many of whom want her to challenge Schumer for his Senate seat in 2028.

But despite the mounting calls for someone different, no candidate has stepped forward yet to challenge Schumer, who has led Democrats for nearly a decade. Schumer is seen as being somewhat responsible for Democrats’ sweeping victory thanks to his recruitment of and support for winning candidates.