Jon Stewart used his podcast to press Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) on whether Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) should be replaced when Democrats take up their new congressional majorities in January, adding his voice to a growing push from the party’s left flank to shake up its leadership.
Speaking with Sanders on The Weekly Show, the 63-year-old comedian asked whether Schumer is too wedded to Senate procedure and “status quo solutions” to lead effectively.
“This gets into and it’s a much larger debate and it is very heated about whether Chuck Schumer should continue to be the majority leader of the Senate when it goes back over in January into that session, Hakeem Jeffries as well. Is he too tied to status quo solutions that maybe haven’t worked in the past? Is he too tied to the kinds of parliamentary protocols of the Senate and too deferential?” Stewart said, according to a report compiled by Mediaite’s Zachary Leeman.
Sanders agreed that new leadership is needed, though he stopped short of criticizing Schumer personally in the exchange.
“Do I think we need new leadership which is going to move the Democratic Party in a much more vigorous way to protect the needs of working families? Yes, I do. Absolutely,” Sanders said.
Stewart pushed further, questioning whether Schumer’s decades of Senate experience still serve the party.
“His institutional knowledge is helpful, but if it’s not helpful to utilize to move the system urgently, then what are we doing?” he said.
Sanders floated Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) as a possible replacement for Schumer. Van Hollen has signaled he is open to a challenge for the post.
Stewart has made this argument before. In an earlier podcast, he called for scrapping the Senate’s seniority system entirely.
“One of the first things you need to do is remove that system of seniority from Democratic politics. It is a bullshit system and it needs to go. And they’re, by the way, they’re already like, ‘Chuck Schumer deserves a lot of credit for putting together this…’ Chuck Schumer deserves — Chuck Schumer fought tooth and nail against half of these fucking people! And even if he didn’t, he does not understand the urgency of the moment and what the future demands. I truly believe that,” Stewart said.
Schumer has rejected the criticism. He said Tuesday he expects to be elected Senate Democratic leader again and insisted his caucus remains united despite the public dissent.
Senate Democrats will choose their leader by secret ballot next month, with senators-elect participating in the vote. Schumer needs a simple majority of a caucus projected to number between 54 and 56 seats. As of now, no one has formally announced a candidacy against him.
