‘Time For Change’: Bernie Sanders Breaks With Chuck Schumer Over Senate Leadership After Midterms

So if this campaign was about anything, it was about change and the need for the Democratic Party, in my view, to move in a new and bold direction. I personally have known Chuck Schumer for over 30 years, and I like Chuck. Nobody who works harder than Chuck Schumer. But in my view, the time is now for change, and I will not be supporting Chuck. To be reelected as the Democratic leader. And I think as Senator Slotkin is going to get to in a moment, we need a process. We need a vigorous debate about the direction of the Democratic Party. I have my ideas, so Lisa's views may be different. But we need to have that out in the open to show the American people that a new day has come and that their votes meant a new direction in Washington. Listen. Thank you. Hi, everybody. I mean, I think... It is very clear that on election night, the American people voted for change and they voted for their pocketbooks and they're exhausted by costs and corruption. And I think we need to hear that. I think whoever wants to run this caucus should come forward with a plan on how they're going to govern differently, what they're going to do in the first 100 days to put money in people's pockets, and then in particular, how they're going to communicate differently. I am not actively seeking this job. I am seeking change. I've been very consistent for a very long time that we need a new generation of leadership. I said it before when I served in the House. I said it about Joe Biden, and I'm saying it here. I think we need to acknowledge that Senator Sanders and I disagree on some items, but we agree on the need for change. Now, we have a bunch of new members. We just had our first big meeting with the new caucus. They're from All kinds of new states. It's extremely exciting. We need leadership that's going to govern for the entirety of the caucus, for folks from blue states, purple states and red states. But I think it's important to demonstrate that we've heard what people want from this last election. So. I think it's important to have a fulsome conversation on things like AI. I want this new generation of leadership to be doing a joint committee, House and Senate, on AI. I think the country is desperate for us to actually put some left and right limits there. I think we should have the voices of freshmen and sophomore senators in leadership helping to guide what happens when we take the majority. But at the end of the day, I don't think it's a radical idea to ask whoever wants to lead to come forward with a concrete plan, not just in words, but in deeds, how they're going to govern differently. So that's why we're here today and interested, again, across ideological lines in something different for the Democratic caucus. Yes, give us your name, please. Has Senator Schumer responded to some of your concerns as we started to discuss the second meeting? Who else is there that was? Well, yeah, we just, the listener and I just came from a meeting where there was some serious discussion about a general idea of going forward. The answer to that is yes. Was it as definitive as it should be? In my view, it was not. And I think one of the names that's out there is Chris Van Hollen. I think Chris has indicated some interest, but you'll have to talk to him. I just wanted to ask you, you know, Chuck Schumer is somebody who's taken loads of corporate PAC money, A-PAC money throughout his career. He also sort of, his stated electoral strategy was to abandon, you know, folks from blue collar cities and communities in favor of moderate Republicans in the suburbs. And his daughter is a, you know, top lobbyist. His stated electoral strategy was to abandon, you know, folks from the... ...cities and communities in favor of moderate Republicans in the suburbs. And his daughter is a top lobbyist for... So I'm wondering, how are you going to secure not only generational change, but also ideological change and change in integrity in finding this new reality? Do you want to go? Yeah, I mean, so look, I think what one of the big messages out of this election was also that it's not just like progressive versus moderate. It is literally economic security at the forefront of people's minds. How am I going to provide for my kids, my grandkids, and how are they going to live a life that's as good as me, if not better? Um, and I think we need to hear that similar issues to what was happening in 2024, right? I ran in 2024 and economic issues were the top of those issues. So I think we're, we're moving to a point where, um, if you listen to the American people, it's not about one wing or the other wing. It's about, are we going to have a strong middle class in this country or not? Okay. Um, now, um, I was very proud. We just had an election in Michigan. Abdul and I are the youngest single delegation, if you combine our years, and we're the first delegation where neither of us have taken corporate PAC money. We don't agree on everything. I've been open about that. But we can work together to come up with solutions in a serious way. So I think that is, to me, one of the strongest messages coming out of Tuesday, is that the The public is done. With people who say a lot of words, but aren't actually going to put more money in people's pockets. And I, I personally will work with anyone who wants to work on that mission instead of looking like we're doing things. Thanks. Let me, let me just say, I don't want to get into all the policies, but if you know where I'm coming from, but I think Alyssa was exactly right in saying that we need a serious debate about serious issues and about the future and the direction of the democratic party. Foreign policy is a very important part of that debate, in my view. The war in Vietnam was based on a lie. The war in Iraq was based on a lie. The war in Iran is based on a lie, in my view. I think U.S. military aid to Israel is certainly a very sensitive subject among tens of millions of people. These are issues that have got to be debated and discussed. Subscribe to One India and never miss an update. Download the One India app now.