Source: Politics<\/p>\n
A normally even-keeled Democratic congressman wants Chuck Schumer to feel the heat. If the Senate minority leader doesn’t adopt a tougher line in the next big Washington negotiation, Rep. Glenn Ivey said, \u201cmaybe he needs to go.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ivey spoke to POLITICO Wednesday morning, hours after facing a raucous town hall in his suburban Washington district, where he first suggested that Schumer should consider stepping aside. Ivey expanded on his view of the top Senate Democrat \u2014 and delivered an ultimatum amid the widespread frustration with the party leadership\u2019s approach to opposing President Donald Trump.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf he can get himself together and come \u2014 you know, get right on this vote and we get another shot at it, okay,\u201d Ivey said. \u201cBut if he\u2019s going to do the same thing again when this bill comes up six months from now, we can\u2019t afford that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ivey, a second-term Congress and member of the House Appropriations Committee, expressed confidence in his own caucus leader, New York Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, who was able to persuade all but one Democrat in the House to vote against a Republican-drafted spending bill. But Ivey said the fissures that were exposed when the two Democratic leaders took separate approaches to measure were unacceptable and can\u2019t happen again.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve got a limited number of shots at being able to fight back against the Trump administration and what they\u2019re doing,\u201d Ivey continued. \u201cWe can\u2019t afford to miss the moment again.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHakeem met the moment last week,\u201d he added. \u201cSchumer missed it.\u201dDuring Ivey\u2019s town hall Tuesday inside a crowded high school auditorium, he faced a series of pointed questions about Democrats\u2019 ability to push back on the Trump administration, as well as his own ability to fight for his constituents \u2014 many of whom identified themselves as federal workers or contractors impacted by the Trump administration’s mass firings and tech billionaire Elon Musk’s efforts to slash government spending. They also lobbed broader questions over why the party doesn’t have a clear strategy.<\/p>\n
A few jeered when Ivey repeatedly pointed to the midterm elections next year as the party\u2019s best opportunity to constrain Trump. This enraged some in the crowd, with some heading for the exits before the town hall officially wrapped, telling this reporter on the way out the door that they weren’t hearing enough.<\/p>\n
Ivey pushed back on those characterizations, which rankled many in the audience. The congressman, whose district includes much of majority-Black Prince George\u2019s County, said he understood the frustration from constituents, but reiterated there are few levers for Democrats to pull while they are in the House minority.<\/p>\n
During the interview, he praised several House Democrats for taking the lead in standing up to Trump and pushing party leaders to fight hard. They included Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland, the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, as well as Rep. Gerry Connolly of Virginia, the top Oversight Committee Democrat, and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York. Ivey admitted these elected officials don\u2019t always exhibit the type of \u201cfire and brimstone kind of stuff\u201d some in the Democratic base want to see.<\/p>\n
“Everybody doesn’t have to do the same temperament, everybody doesn’t have to do the same messaging,” he said, “as long as they’re doing what they need to do to win their seats.”<\/p>\n