LEMON DROP | Congressman Ro Khanna Says Chuck Schumer Should Be Replaced!
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Why did Ro Khanna call for Chuck Schumer to be replaced?
Congressman Ro Khanna, thank you for joining us. Always good to be on, Don. Congressman, I want to play something that one of your Senate colleagues, a colleague in the Senate, actually the head of the minority leader, Chuck Schumer, said last night when they were voting on this deal. Here it is.
For months and months, Democrats have been fighting to get the Senate to address the healthcare crisis. This bill does nothing to ensure that that crisis is addressed. I am voting no, and I will keep fighting.
Okay, so here's what I don't understand, and perhaps you can help me, because you are a politician. Chuck Schumer is the Senate minority leader. He's supposed to be the leader. He voted no. Now, the reporting is that he didn't have much to do with these negotiations. I don't understand why, if he is the leader. You put out a tweet saying, Senator Schumer is no longer effective and should be replaced. If you can't lead the fight to stop health care premiums from skyrocketing for Americans, what will you fight for? So please help me to understand Chuck Schumer's, I don't know, his involvement in all of this and his stance on all of this, why he is not voting for it, but yet I don't understand it. Help me understand.
Well, Don, look, the senators who voted for it have been on TV saying that they kept Schumer in the loop at every step of the way. You don't just have a deal like this happen with the Senate minority leader not blessing it. And if he was really opposed to this, but you had eight senators going rogue, he could have called them out publicly. He could have said that he's strongly disagreed with what they were doing. He did none of that. So what he tried to do is have his cake and eat it too. He would vote no, but he would get enough people to vote yes and cut the deal. And you know what? For the longest time, these kind of tactics have worked in Washington, but not for this moment, not for this new generation.
They're tired of the political games. They're tired of kind of this spin, and they want people who are gonna actually stand up for working class values. That's why I was the first Democrat elected to call for him to be replaced. Now, others have been echoing that call.
How did Schumer vote and what confusion surrounds his role in the shutdown deal?
That's a pretty strong statement, sir. And look, I have to commend you for it. How is it being received?
You know, I'm surprised that it's being received rather well. I've taken positions that I get huge backlash. When I spoke out against the blank check to Netanyahu and the Gaza war, that was a tough issue. I got backlash for that. When I have called out... the party on other issues, there's sometimes been backlash. But in this case, it's not just progressives. I think many people are disappointed with how Schumer's been leading. And so while there have been a few defenders of him, there's been large consensus that we need new leadership.
I have to tell you, as you know, Congressman, I'm out and about all the time talking to people. I have not heard from one Schumer defender. And as a matter of fact, I hear from more people who feel like you than I have. I don't hear from any defenders at all. I'm wondering, you know, present company excluded, do you think your party, at least the senators who voted yes for this, do you think they understand where the party is right now? Because from every single Democrat I speak to, They want the Democratic Party to stand up, to have a backbone, to fight against this authoritarian regime that they deem is happening with the Trump administration. They don't want Democrats to back down. Do you think your party understands that?
Do you think they know where the zeitgeist is or where the sentiment is or where the movement is and the energy in the Democratic Party is right now? Because it's not where they are.
Not enough of them do. I mean, some do, of course. I mean, a Chris Murphy or a Tim Kaine or others, but a lot don't. And, you know, here's why people are reluctant to do what I said, which is replace Chuck Schumer. You think, well, why don't More members of Congress and senators just say this.
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Chapters
4 chapters
1
Why did Ro Khanna call for Chuck Schumer to be replaced?
0:14–2:33
2
How did Schumer vote and what confusion surrounds his role in the shutdown deal?
2:33–6:38
3
What reasons does Khanna give for labeling Schumer ineffective?
6:38–11:10
4
How has the public and other Democrats reacted to Khanna’s call for new leadership?
11:10–15:49