Democrat Bennet on Schumer: ‘It’s important … to know when it’s time to go’
Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet (Colo.) didn’t call on Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) to resign from his leadership position but argued it’s important “to know when it’s time to go.”
Bennet, like many other Democrats, hosted a town hall for frustrated constituents to speak about the Trump administration and the recent continuing resolution fight that put Schumer’s tenure in the spotlight.
“I do think on the leadership question, it’s always better to examine whether folks are in the right place, and we’re certainly going to have that conversation,” Bennet said at a town hall in Golden, Colo., NPR reported.
He later added that he was one of the first Senate Democrats to cast doubt on former President Biden's ability to stay in the presidential election after his poor debate performance against now-President Trump.
“Let me just say it’s important for people to know when it’s time to go,” he said in response to a question about if he would call on Schumer to step aside.
“We’re going to have conversations, I’m sure, in the foreseeable future, about all the Democratic leadership,” Bennet added.
Schumer, 74, is facing the toughest battle of his career after he voted in favor of the GOP-drafted continuing resolution, opting to keep the government funded despite attacks and criticism from his fellow Democrats.
The minority leader has insisted he isn’t going anywhere and that he is the best person to lead the party. Some members have floated the idea that New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D) should challenge him in the Democratic primary come 2028.
Bennet said he thought the debate over the government funding bill, which showed divides within the minority party, didn’t prove to the American people that their party was trying to fight on their behalf.
Democrats have hit the road in recent weeks to talk to constituents who are visibly frustrated with the Trump administration and Department of Government Efficiency’s (DOGE) overhaul of the federal government.
Bennet urged unity in the current moment and echoed a message similar to some Senate Democrats that they need to take risks. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) said she thinks Schumer was wrong to vote for the bill, but she did not address if she thought he should continue to lead Democrats in the upper chamber.
“Here is the sad fact of the situation that we’re in. [Trump] won not just the presidency, but a big majority in the Senate and a little majority in the House, and it doesn’t do anybody any good for us to pretend that’s not real,” Bennet said, the outlet reported. “That obviously makes it challenging, but there is no excuse for not continuing to push.”
“I know we can do it,” he later said. “But it’s not going to be the same old playbook and it may not be with the same old people.”
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