‘Pure Conviction’: Schumer Defies His Own Party’s Criticism, Refuses To Step Down

Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York pushed back against calls for him to step aside as Senate minority leader during an interview that aired Sunday.

Schumer came under fire from left-wing media figures and Democrats in Congress over his decision to help pass a GOP-backed spending bill to prevent a government shutdown, with Democratic Rep. Glenn Ivey of Maryland calling for Schumer’s replacement as leader of Senate Democrats Tuesday. Schumer told “Meet the Press” host Kristen Welker he was not planning to resign his leadership post.

“Look, I’m not stepping down, and let me just say this, Kristen. I knew when I cast my vote against this – against a government shutdown, that it would be, there would be a lot of controversy and there was, but let me tell you and your audience why I did it, why I felt it was so important.” Schumer said. “The was certainly bad… but a shutdown would be 15 or 20 times worse. Under a shutdown, the executive branch has sole power to determine what is, quote, ‘essential,’ and they can determine without any court supervision, the courts have ruled it’s solely up to the executive what to shut down.”

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“Sometimes when you’re a leader, you have to do things to avoid a danger that might come down the curve and I did it out of pure conviction as to what a leader should do,” Schumer added after claiming a shutdown would enable President Donald Trump and White House senior advisor Elon Musk to “eviscerate” the federal government.