Sanders Says He Won't Back Schumer for Democratic Leader: Joins Slotkin in Saying the Time Is Now for Change
U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders said at the Capitol on November 10 that he will not support Chuck Schumer's bid to remain leader of the Senate Democrats, becoming the most prominent progressive so far to oppose Schumer's continued leadership.
Sanders, an independent who caucuses with the Democrats, appeared at a news conference alongside Michigan Democratic Senator Elissa Slotkin. He said he has known Schumer for more than 30 years and likes him, and that nobody works harder than Schumer, but that in his view the time is now for change and he will not be supporting Schumer to be reelected as the Democratic leader. Asked whether he would oppose Schumer even if he ran unopposed, Sanders replied that he did not think Schumer would run unopposed. The two said they had just come from a meeting with Schumer at which he laid out some ideas, but that those ideas did not go far enough. Slotkin said she would not back anyone seeking her vote unless she saw a concrete plan that was definitively different, and that she was not seeking the job herself.
Democrats won control of the Senate in the November 3 midterm elections and will hold at least 54 seats when the new Congress convenes, which would make Schumer majority leader if he keeps his caucus's support. Schumer responded the same day that he was confident he would be elected majority leader. Maryland Senator Chris Van Hollen has been mentioned as a possible challenger and demurred on Tuesday when asked whether he would run. No one has formally declared a challenge, and Senate Democrats are expected to choose their leader by secret ballot in early December; Schumer needs only a majority of the caucus to stay on.
Source: Associated Press
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 美国参议员 Bernie Sanders 2026年2月在斯坦福大学演讲（资料图，右侧就座者为众议员 Ro Khanna）。图：Anderseidesvik，CC BY-SA 4.0，经维基共享资源 / U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders speaking at Stanford University in February 2026 (file photo; Representative Ro Khanna is seated at right). Photo by Anderseidesvik, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
