Is There Already a Plan to Remove Chuck Schumer as Senate Minority Leader?
The conversation is here and the calls are coming from more than just the progressives
Democrats came off a wave of November 5 election victories with the GOP fracturing and public opinion on their side. They held every card. Then Chuck Schumer coordinated with Republicans to hand them victory. He didn’t just allow eight senators to break ranks. He worked with the GOP to engineer the surrender, defying public sentiment and inflicting damage on his own party and the American public.
This wasn’t incompetence, it was collaboration with the opposition against his own party.
Schumer is not loyal to the American public. But he can be held accountable by the American public. Here’s how.
Democrats entered November with four aces. Public opinion blamed Republicans for the shutdown by double digits. They had just won stunning victories on November 5 in Virginia, New Jersey, and New York City. Republicans were taking heat while Trump was still openly defying court orders to restore SNAP benefits while golfing at Mar-a-Lago, hosting parties, and tearing down a wing of the White House to build a ballroom.
The optics were getting worse for Republicans daily. Insurance premium notices were beginning to hit 57% of ACA enrollees in Republican districts, creating mounting constituent pressure. Activist groups reported 98.67% of members wanted Democrats to keep fighting. The December 31 deadline for ACA subsidies created an absolute timeline working in Democrats’ favor. Every external condition favored Democratic victory.
Then eight senators threw the hand away.
Behind closed doors, the conversation has now started. Senate Democrats are wary about publicly calling for Schumer’s removal because leadership challenges can be career-ending if they fail. But feelers are out, carefully measuring two things. First, how much heat lands on Schumer for this. Second, how much political equity there is to be gained by anyone who starts calling for him to resign, and unlike the hate against Nancy Pelosi, there seems to be nobody seriously arguing that Chuck Schumer has ever been particularly effective in his role.
Multiple House Democrats have publicly demanded his resignation. Democratic Senate candidates in competitive 2026 primaries are making opposition to Schumer a centerpiece of their campaigns. Even Democratic governors with 2028 presidential ambitions are distancing themselves. Gavin Newsom called the deal “pathetic.” JB Pritzker called it an “empty promise.”
This isn’t progressive activists alone. Mainstream Democrats, governors positioning for 2028, and voters across the ideological spectrum recognize this as a betrayal. When you surrender maximum leverage for nothing, everyone understands what it means.
What names are circulating to replace Cuck Schumer?
Chris Murphy of Connecticut has led the faction demanding Democrats fight harder and represents the combative approach the base wants.
Patty Murray of Washington has institutional support as current assistant leader but represents continuity rather than change.
Bernie Sanders of Vermont commands fierce loyalty among the party’s base and represents the clearest break from Schumer’s corporatist politics.
Each represents a different answer to how Democrats should fight back. The situation is unfolding.
Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH)
John Fetterman (D-PA)
Tim Kaine (D-VA)
Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV)
Dick Durbin (D-IL)
Maggie Hassan (D-NH)
Angus King (I-ME)
Jacky Rosen (D-NV)
These are the Senators who voted with Republicans to accept John Thune’s promise of a mid-December vote on ACA subsidies.
Not a guarantee the bill will pass. Not a commitment from House Speaker Mike Johnson to bring it to a vote. Not Trump’s agreement to sign anything. Just a Republican’s word.
No Senate leader has ever been removed by caucus vote, but given that Republicans break precedent constantly these days, why shouldn’t Democrats join them and break this one?
Public pressure forces resignation and caucus votes.
For example, on December 5, 2002, Senator Trent Lott made segregationist comments at Strom Thurmond’s 100th birthday party. Mainstream media initially ignored it. Bloggers, particularly Josh Marshall’s Talking Points Memo, kept researching and posting daily, circulating the story via email when mainstream outlets dropped it. By December 12, the story broke back into the mainstream press.
Bush publicly rebuked Lott. Internal party pressure mounted as senators distanced themselves. By December 19, Bill Frist announced a leadership challenge. On December 20, just 15 days after his comments, Lott resigned. The pressure became unbearable. Sustained pressure across multiple fronts for 15 days made a Senate leader resign.
Call Schumer’s office daily at 202-224-6542. His Washington office is located at 322 Hart Senate Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20510. Use his contact form at schumer.senate.gov/contact/message-chuck. Your script:
“Senator Schumer surrendered maximum leverage on November 10 for a worthless promise from John Thune. I’m calling to demand his resignation as Democratic leader. Democrats cannot win if leadership folds under pressure.”
Follow @SenSchumer on Twitter/X, @senschumer on Instagram, and Senator Chuck Schumer on Facebook. Turn on notifications for all posts. Every time he posts anything, respond immediately. Call out the November 10 surrender. Use #SchumerMustResign. Tag him. Quote-tweet everything. If 100 readers do this, he can’t post without immediate backlash. If 1,000 hyper-persistent people flood his mentions on every single post, he cannot escape it. His own social media becomes his punishment. He posts “Happy Thanksgiving” and gets 500 replies about his surrender to Thune. Every. Single. Time.
Visit OpenSecrets.org and search for Chuck Schumer and each of the eight senators. Click on their “Top Contributors” page to see organizations like PACs, corporations, and unions that have supported them. These are public entities. Contact them. Ask whether they approve of surrendering maximum leverage for nothing in return. Ask whether this represents their values. Make supporting these senators a reputational cost. We’re not trying to identify or harass individual donors. We’re asking the public organizations that fund these senators whether they support this strategic failure.
Call the eight senators: Jeanne Shaheen (NH), John Fetterman (PA), Tim Kaine (VA), Catherine Cortez Masto (NV), Dick Durbin (IL), Maggie Hassan (NH), Angus King (ME), and Jacky Rosen (NV). Find their office numbers through senate.gov. Use the same script adapted:
“You broke ranks on November 10 for a worthless promise. I’m calling to express my opposition to your decision and my support for new Democratic leadership.”
Contact your Congressional Representatives and US Senators. Call, email, post on their social media. Ask if they’ll call for Schumer’s resignation and make it clear you will .
Share this article with 10 people. Get them to do the same. Trent Lott fell in 15 days of sustained pressure, but only because people acted. If 1,000 people call Schumer’s office daily, email daily, and flood every single social media post, he can’t escape it. If each person contacts three organizational donors, 3,000 donor contacts land. If each person makes #SchumerMustResign trend, it never stops. A thousand people acting multiple times every day creates unbearable pressure.
We had millions show up for No Kings Events, let’s flex those muscles when it matters. We need a Senate minority leader who will be tenacious in defending the public and we need to show politicians there are serious consequences for selling us out.
You now have the evidence, the mechanism, and the tools. Pick two actions from this list. Do them today. Mention your intent in the comments below if you’d like to encourage others. Trent Lott left in disgrace within 15 days because people made their disgust loud enough that it couldn’t be ignored.
We will lift up those who defend us and we will also bring real heat if you sell the American public out to capitulate for corporate donors.
We have the carrot and the stick, it’s time to remind politicians who the hell they work for.
Consider supporting our work by visiting TheExistentialistRepublic.com to pick up one of our new Intro to Soft Secession educational booklets.
Here’s an article on how one working class person with a phone or computer can (legally) ruin a politician’s day, week, or maybe even career?
References
ABC News. (2025, November 10). ‘A very bad night’: Democrats face blowback from their own party over shutdown deal. https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/bad-night-democrats-face-blowback-party-shutdown-deal/story?id=127379532
ABC News. (2025, October 16). Thune says he offered Democrats a vote on Obamacare subsidies to end government shutdown. https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/thune-offered-democrats-vote-obamacare-subsidies-end-government/story?id=126578971
Allen, M., Eilperin, J., Broder, D. S., & Von Drehle, D. (2002, December 21). Lott resigns as Senate GOP leader. The Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/2002/12/21/lott-resigns-as-senate-gop-leader/7c0ea1d7-4adc-427d-94d1-cb90b755b43f/
Axios. (2025, November 10). Chuck Schumer faces mounting calls from Democrats to resign as Senate leader. https://www.axios.com/2025/11/10/schumer-resign-democrats-shutdown-deal-senate
CBS News. (2025, November 5). Election Day 2025 voting results [Live blog]. https://www.cbsnews.com/live-updates/election-day-2025-voting-results/
CNN. (2002, December 19). Warner: Frist to challenge Lott. http://edition.cnn.com/2002/ALLPOLITICS/12/19/lott.controversy/
Diaz, L., & Wood, E. (2025, November 11). Iowa Democratic U.S. Senate candidates Zach Wahls, Nathan Sage call for Chuck Schumer to step down. The Gazette. https://www.thegazette.com/federal-government/iowa-democratic-u-s-senate-candidates-zach-wahls-nathan-sage-call-for-chuck-schumer-to-step-down-f/
Gringlas, S. (2025, November 10). Senate approves shutdown ending legislation, sending bill to the House for a vote. NPR. https://www.npr.org/2025/11/10/g-s1-97245/senate-shutdown-vote
Kapur, S., & Thorp, F., V. (2025, April 2). Mallory McMorrow jumps into Michigan’s Senate race with a call for change in the Democratic Party. NBC News. https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2026-election/mallory-mcmorrow-jumps-michigans-senate-race-call-change-democratic-pa-rcna198349
Kurtz, H. (2002, December 10). Why so late on Lott? The Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/technology/2002/12/10/why-so-late-on-lott/1f0d0049-11d1-49dc-85f3-2fffc016fb0e/
Marshall, J. (2002, December 10). You don’t have to feel sorry for Trent Lott [Blog post]. Talking Points Memo. https://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/99421-2
MSNBC. (2025, November 10). Democratic White House hopefuls blast the shutdown deal. https://www.msnbc.com/top-stories/latest/democrat-presidential-hopefuls-blast-shutdown-deal-rcna243023
Murray, I., & Hensley, S. B. (2025, November 10). Democrats rebel after 8 senators cut a deal to end the shutdown without ACA funds. NBC News. https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/democrats-rebel-8-senators-cut-deal-end-shutdown-aca-funds-rcna242994
NBC News. (2025, November 2). Poll: Trump, Republicans get most of shutdown blame, signs of voter irritation with both parties. https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/trump-administration/poll-republicans-shutdown-blame-signs-voter-irritation-both-parties-rcna240552
Ortaliza, J., & Amin, K. (2025, October). More than half of ACA Marketplace enrollees live in Republican congressional districts. KFF. https://www.kff.org/quick-take/more-than-half-of-aca-marketplace-enrollees-live-in-republican-congressional-districts/
PBS NewsHour. (2002, December 12). GOP leader under fire: Senator Trent Lott [Television broadcast]. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/gop-leader-under-fire-senator-trent-lott
Smith, I. (2025, February 11). Likely Michigan Senate candidate Mallory McMorrow: Time for Schumer to step back. The Hill. https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/5212902-michigan-state-senator-mcmorrow-chuck-schumer-step-back/
The Hill. (2025, November 10). Platner: Schumer funding shutdown. https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/5599068-platner-schumer-funding-shutdown/
I don’t consider myself to be a progressive ( I identify as “pragmatist”) but I was very angry when I learned of this sellout on Sunday evening. I live in PA and while Senator Fetterman’s office has been closed during the shutdown I left an e-mail for him that would remove paint. I’m beyond disgusted with him.
I’m old, but I don’t want this old guy there! “Dem Leadership” is living in the 20th century. Though the rest of us have moved on. Both Bernie and Warren, (both smart and older) thought the move was nuts. Time for better leadership. We have plenty of smart people to replace them. Meanwhile, the nation crumbles.