Maryland’s Glenn Ivey is first Democratic lawmaker to publicly demand that the Senate minority leader step down
A Democratic congressman has become the first to publicly call for Chuck Schumer to step down as Senate minority leader, highlighting growing divisions within the party over how to confront and counter Donald Trump’s administration.
Glenn Ivey of Maryland told constituents on Tuesday that Schumer’s decision to allow a Republican funding bill to pass had surrendered crucial leverage against the administration.
“I respect Chuck Schumer. I think he had a great career,” Ivey said at a packed Maryland town hall. “But it may be time for Senate Democrats to get a new leader.”
The rebuke – met with applause at the meeting in Prince George’s county, home to thousands of federal workers bordering Washington DC – marks the first public demand from a Democratic lawmaker for Schumer’s removal.
Ivey’s callout adds to the deepening Democratic divisions over how to fight Trump and Elon Musk’s so-called “department of government efficiency”, which has in turn slashed thousands of federal jobs, and spurred courts to get involved. After Schumer’s Senate caucus fractured, Democrats – and their constituents – are arguing that the Senate minority leader surrendered a massive opportunity to resist these actions by allowing the Republican funding bill to pass through so easily.
But Ivey didn’t get off so easily either, and at one point the town hall turned on him, with attendees repeatedly interrupting the congressman to demand more aggressive action against Trump’s policies now, not during the 2026 midterm elections.
