Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer is facing an open revolt from within his own party, and one prominent conservative columnist says it's exactly what the Democratic Socialists of America planned.
Washington Examiner columnist Joe Concha said on Fox News' Fox & Friends First on Friday that the push to replace Schumer with Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) is "the process of the DSA takeover of the Democratic Party, stage one."
Van Hollen officially announced Thursday that he would challenge Schumer for the Democratic leader position, according to Newsweek. The challenge comes as at least six incoming Democratic senators have called for new leadership or said they will not support Schumer.
THE DSA'S ROLE
The Democratic Socialists of America is not hiding its involvement. In a statement to Newsweek, the group said it supports "a challenge to New York Senator Chuck Schumer as Senate Majority Leader."
"Senator Schumer has consistently failed to deliver for the working class," the DSA statement read.
The group directed Newsweek to a letter-writing campaign urging senators to replace Schumer. That letter criticizes Schumer over his "support from pro-Israel donors," "ties to corporate interests," "refusal to back abolishing ICE" and his role in helping pass "Republican spending bills when Democrats had leverage."
According to Newsweek, the letter also argues that Democrats' midterm victories reflected support for policies including Medicare for All and higher taxes on the wealthy.
THE OPPOSITION MOUNTS
Van Hollen is not alone in challenging Schumer. Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, who caucuses with Democrats, and Michigan Sen.-elect Abdul El-Sayed have endorsed Van Hollen's bid.
Sanders split from Schumer at a Capitol news conference Tuesday, saying he had known the New Yorker for more than 30 years and liked him.
"But in my view, the time is now for change, and I will not be supporting Chuck to be reelected as the Democratic leader," Sanders said, according to Newsweek.
Questions about Schumer's leadership extend beyond the party's progressive wing. Virginia Sen. Mark Warner and Georgia Sen. Raphael Warnock have not publicly committed to supporting him, while Michigan Sen. Elissa Slotkin urged colleagues to withhold a quorum until candidates presented a concrete plan for change, Newsweek reported.
At least six incoming Democratic senators have called for new leadership or said they will not support Schumer: Annie Andrews of South Carolina, Abdul El-Sayed of Michigan, Peggy Flanagan of Minnesota, and others.
Van Hollen told MS NOW that he had spoken with a large number of Democratic senators, including those joining the Senate soon, and that he did not believe Schumer had a guaranteed reelection. He said he had the support of "more than ten" of the 55 Democratic senators, including those entering in January.
Even so, Van Hollen acknowledged that the competition with Schumer was "tight."
A RECORD UNDER FIRE
After nearly 46 years in Congress, the 75-year-old Schumer is viewed by the party's base as one of the main representatives of the Democratic leadership, according to reporting from the Spanish-language outlet covering the story.
The progressive wing has criticized Schumer for his ties to the pro-Israel lobby AIPAC—Schumer is one of the staunchest defenders of Israel within the party—and to Wall Street, from which he has received donations for various campaigns.
His more moderate profile and tendency to make deals with Republicans to avoid government shutdowns instead of opting for confrontation during President Donald Trump's second term have also contributed to projecting an image of a lukewarm politician in the eyes of a base that wanted firmer opposition to the president.
Van Hollen became a relatively well-known figure last year when he traveled to El Salvador to meet with Kilmar Abrego García, a Maryland resident whom the White House had deported in defiance of a federal judge. The senator was part of the campaign that managed to get Abrego García to return to the United States with his family.
Opinion pieces in left-wing outlets are amplifying the push. Common Dreams published an op-ed titled "Honor an Election of Change. Replace Chuck Schumer," arguing that "Schumer is the opposite of what Democratic voters said they wanted and in countless ways he represents exactly what they voted against."
WHAT IT MEANS
The Democratic Party is in the middle of an identity crisis, and the socialists are winning. If Van Hollen succeeds in ousting Schumer, the party's leadership will shift further left—toward policies like abolishing ICE, Medicare for All, and higher taxes on the wealthy.
For Americans who watched Democrats struggle to present a unified opposition to President Trump's agenda, the infighting signals more chaos ahead. The party that claims to defend democracy cannot even decide who should lead it.
Our Take
This is not just a leadership fight. This is the DSA's hostile takeover of the Democratic Party, and Chuck Schumer is the first casualty.
The socialists are not hiding it. They want to abolish ICE. They want Medicare for All. They want to punish Schumer for daring to work with Republicans on spending bills. And they are using the likes of Bernie Sanders and a handful of incoming senators to do it.
For years, Democrats told Americans they were the party of the working class. Now the DSA is calling their bluff, and the establishment has no answer. Schumer—who has spent nearly half a century in Washington—is being treated like a relic by his own colleagues.
Patriots, this is what happens when a party stops listening to its voters and starts listening to its activists. The DSA is not interested in compromise. They are interested in power. And if they succeed in ousting Schumer, the Democratic Party will become something unrecognizable to mainstream America.
The question is simple: Will Democrats stand up to the socialists, or will they hand over the keys?
