Sen. Michael Bennet went further than any of his Democratic colleagues Wednesday in publicly venting against Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, but stopped short of calling for the Brooklyn native to step aside.
During a town hall in Golden, west of Denver, Bennet (D-Colo.) sidestepped a question about whether he would demand Schumer resign but hinted he would not be sorry to see someone else in leadership.
“It’s always better to examine whether folks are in the right place, and we’re certainly going to have that conversation,” said Bennet, 60.
“Let me just say it’s important for people to know when it’s time to go,” he added, recalling the internal strife Democrats faced over the question of whether Joe Biden was too old to seek a second term last year.
Schumer, 74, is not up for re-election until 2028, which would mark the 30th anniversary of his initial election to the Senate following 18 years in the House.
Schumer has faced rage from progressives for his decision to vote against blocking a GOP bill to avoid a partial government shutdown last week.
Democrats had hoped to use the government shutdown fight to extract concessions from Republicans and widely saw it as one of their only major pieces of leverage until the fall.
Ultimately nine other Democrats — including Schumer’s No. 2, Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) — voted alongside Schumer to overcome the 60-vote legislative filibuster.
Privately, Bennet expressed fury at Senate Democratic leadership, CNN reported last week, saying in a closed-door meeting that the Schumer crew had “no strategy, no plan, and no message.”
Schumer’s office declined to comment when contacted by The Post.
“We have to fight these Republicans, this right-wing group, not all Republicans, every step of the way, but do it in the smartest way possible,” Schumer justified his decision on ABC News’ “The View” Tuesday.
The top Senate Democrat argued that a shutdown would have emboldened President Trump and tech guru Elon Musk to make even deeper cuts to federal spending.
While some House Democrats, such as Rep. Glenn Ivey (D-Md.), have urged their Senate colleagues to replace Schumer, members of the upper chamber have refrained from publicly agitating for a change.
“I still support Senator Schumer as leader,” Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) told NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday. “But I think the only way that we are going to be effective as a caucus is if we change our tactics. And we have to have a conversation inside our caucus to make sure that we are going to do that.”
“I think that [Schumer] and the other nine colleagues of mine who made that decision made a very conscientious and principled decision after a lot of reflection,” Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) told ABC News’ “This Week.” “I’m not going to throw any of them under the bus for the choice that they made.”
Allies of Schumer insist that the minority leader made the best out of a bad situation.
“Politicians are breathing a sigh of relief that it’s Schumer taking the brunt of criticism for making the inevitably right choice not to shut down the government,” a Democratic source told The Post.
“Schumer’s been a heat shield for Democrats in competitive seats across America.”
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