Chuck Schumer struggles to meet the moment as Democrats call for leadership

Chuck Schumer is increasingly a man alone.

His decision to break a filibuster on legislation to avert a government shutdown on the GOP’s terms still echoes in the minds of his colleagues. Schumer this week faced the question yet again — what is he doing about his stagnant and dreadfully low approval rating?

A CNN poll released Tuesday found that just 17 percent of Americans have a positive view of the New York senator, compared to 44 percent who disapprove of his performance.

The 74-year-old senior-most Democrat in Congress was forced to defend himself to CNN’s Manu Raju against the accusation that he has become a liability for his party.

“Polls come and go. Our party is united. We’re on our front foot, we’re stepping forward, going after Trump and having real success,” Schumer insisted.

But by the evening, he was the latest target of wrathful Bernie Sanders, now — like other progressives — on the warpath, in his own way, against the establishment of his party responsible for the debacle that played out in 2024.

“United around what?” Sanders scoffed, answering CNN’s Kaitlan Collins after he was asked about the Senate Democratic leader’s comments. “Are we united around guaranteeing healthcare to all people? [...] Are we united in tackling a corrupt campaign finance system? Now you tell me, you’re an observer of these things.”

Wednesday evening marked Schumer’s latest embarrassment.

Democrats acceded to calling a vote on a resolution ending Donald Trump’s national emergency declaration over perceived trade imbalances, only to see that vote fail as two senators in support of the bill were unable to show up — Sheldon Whitehouse was returning from South Korea, and Mitch McConnell was ill. Whitehouse and Schumer both faced criticism from party insiders after the vote failed.

“This was a miscalculation, since it had been known that Whitehouse would not be back in time,” one unnamed Democratic senator told the Washington Examiner. “It all fell flat because we were counting on Republicans who had previously supported a similar resolution, and that was a mistake.”

Schumer portrayed his party as the winners in comments afterwards to reporters, claiming that Republicans now “own” Trump’s tariffs.

“We forced a vote to stop the damage Trump’s tariffs are doing to American families,” he crowed on Twitter after his party lost the vote. “But Senate Republicans just voted to keep the tariffs in place that are hurting families.”

It will be very difficult for Schumer to dig himself out of this hole. The party is once again facing a surge of calls for new leadership. The Senate Democratic leader himself is beset by rumors of a primary challenge from Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who led him in a poll released in early April. Even if she declines to wait until 2028 to seek higher office, he could end up losing the support of his caucus well before then.

And the senator himself does not seem able to make his own rhetoric match the tenor of his party. It was all CNN’s Dana Bash could do, apparently, to avoid mocking him to his face during an interview Sunday on State of the Union after he declared that he’d sent a “very strong letter” with “eight very strong questions” for the president — who is now approaching the one-month mark of openly defying a Supreme Court order demanding the White House facilitate the return of a wrongfully deported man.

Bash could only deadpan in return: “Well, you’ll let us know if you get a response.”