Chuck Schumer dismisses opposition to his leadership from progressive Democrats

Schumer says one of his most important Senate jobs is protecting US taxpayer aid to Israel US Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) speaks at the Center For American Progress in Washington, DC, on 5 November 2026 (Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images/AFP) Published date: 6 November 2026 18:09 GMT | Last update: 9 sec ago US Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer is facing opposition from progressives and a new group of Democratic lawmakers-elect to become Senate majority leader, in a rift that underscores the party’s divide on Israel. Senators-elect Adam Hamilton of Kansas, Troy Jackson of Maine, and Abdul El-Sayed of Michigan all said on the campaign trail that they will oppose Schumer as Senate majority leader. Meanwhile, progressive groups have said the Democrats’ sweeping midterm election victory on Tuesday should start the process of new lawmakers leading the party. “Voters made it very clear that they want a new generation of Democratic fighters,” Indivisible, a progressive Democratic group, said this week. “We need a Leader in the Senate who is capable of leading that fight. It’s time for Senate Democrats to choose new leadership.” One key difference between the 75-year-old Schumer and the new cohort of Democratic lawmakers is his position on Israel. Schumer is a longtime supporter of military aid to Israel and has manoeuvred to stop bills in Congress that would condition military assistance. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters In February 2026, Schumer said that one of his most important jobs as Senate minority leader was to “fight for aid to Israel”. “I have many jobs as leader… and one is to fight for aid to Israel, all the aid that Israel needs,” he told a group of pro-Israel Jewish leaders at the time. “As long as I’m in the Senate, this programme will continue to grow from strength to strength, and we won’t let anyone attack it or undo it,” Schumer said, even referring to US taxpayer aid for Israel as his “baby”. Schumer is Jewish-American and has received support from the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (Aipac). But recent polling shows that he is out of step with the majority of Jewish voters in the US, who lean heavily Democratic. Supermajority of Jewish Americans think Israel and Aipac drive antisemitism Read More » A supermajority of Jewish Americans think Israel and Aipac’s actions are increasing antisemitism in the US, a poll commissioned by J Street and published this week found. Still, the division on Schumer reflects a wider ideological divide within the Democratic Party. Senator-elect Sayed represents members who want to end the US’s support for Israel amid the genocide in Gaza and occupation of the West Bank. Other senators, like John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, are staunchly pro-Israel. But Schumer is likely to return as Senate majority leader, partly because no senior Democratic senators have expressed interest in the role. Schumer on Thursday dismissed talk of a rift within the party after a historic victory. "The bottom line is: first... we’ve had a very, very strong finish here, and I have worked really hard to get the results we got. But second, the issue is not me,” he told MS Now. “The issue is unity, fighting together. We still have a big job to do.” Middle East Eye delivers independent and unrivalled coverage and analysis of the Middle East, North Africa and beyond. To learn more about republishing this content and the associated fees, please fill out this form. More about MEE can be found here.