Democrats won. Both chambers, decisively, on November 3 [1]. The party that spent two years apologizing for existing finally got handed the gavels, and the first thing its leaders did was announce theyâd be keeping them. Chuck Schumer told reporters the next morning that heâll be reelected as majority leader [2]. Prediction markets agree with him, pricing Schumer at 89% and Hakeem Jeffries at 96% to hold their jobs [3].
I donât. I want them both gone. Hereâs the line that settled it for me: when a Republican has to force the impeachment vote on Pete Hegseth while the so-called opposition leader waits for the polls to clear, itâs time for new leadership.
That line comes with a paper trail. Letâs walk through it.
No coronation. Senate Democrats vote by secret ballot in early December. House Democrats nominate their Speaker before the floor vote on January 3. Both races should be contested, public, and fought on a written agenda. If Schumer and Jeffries are the best Democrats have, make them prove it against a real opponent.
TL;DR
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Who wants them out? | At least seven incoming Democratic senators, Indivisible, Our Revolution, MoveOn, the Machinists union, and a million-plus petition signers [4][6][7][8] |
| How popular are they? | Schumer: 13% positive, 53% negative. Jeffries: 18% positive, 35% negative [9] |
| The Hegseth problem | Republican Thomas Massie forced the impeachment vote. Jeffries refused to endorse it until after the election [13][15] |
| Is there a challenger? | Senate: Van Hollen is open to it, Slotkin won't rule it out [5][24]. House: nobody yet |
| When does this get decided? | Senate caucus ballot in early December. House Speaker vote January 3, 2027 [2] |
The Hegseth Receipt
Pete Hegseth has run the Pentagon like a man auditioning for a war crimes tribunal. The impeachment articles filed this week are eight counts long [13]. They cover the unauthorized war with Iran, including hostilities that ran past the War Powers Resolutionâs 60-day limit. They cover the strike on an Iranian school, the Caribbean boat killings, the capture of NicolĂĄs Maduro, an unlawful war in Yemen, and retaliation against Senator Mark Kelly for telling troops to refuse illegal orders [14].
Guess who filed them. Thomas Massie. A Kentucky Republican who lost his primary to a Trump-backed challenger in May and has nothing left to lose [13].
Massie first filed in September 2026. Speaker Mike Johnson canceled votes and sent the House home early to dodge it [18]. And Hakeem Jeffries, the leader of the party that supposedly opposes all of this, declined to endorse Massieâs resolution before the midterms [13]. He found his spine on November 8, five days after voters handed him a majority, when he told ABC he was a âhard yesâ [15].
It gets worse. A Democrat got there first. Rep. Shri Thanedar filed Hegseth articles in December 2025 [17]. Jeffries waved him off, telling reporters that Republicans would never allow impeachment articles to reach the floor [16].
Translation: donât bother trying, because the other side wonât let you. Thatâs the entire Schumer-Jeffries theory of power in one sentence.
So the record reads like this. A Democrat tried. Leadership shrugged. A Republican tried. Leadership stayed quiet until it was safe, then claimed the cause once the votes were already counted. Call it following with a better title.
The Numbers Donât Lie
Democratic voters spent two years watching their leaders fold. Now pollsters have the receipt. Schumer sits at 13% positive and 53% negative in NBCâs final pre-election poll [9]. Jeffries does better, which isnât saying much. In the Economist/YouGov survey from late October, Jeffries polled eight points worse on net than the Republican Speaker heâs about to replace [10].
That YouGov poll found something worse. Among Democrats, Schumer was the only congressional leader underwater with his own party, at 38% approve and 42% disapprove [10].
The leader of the Senate majority canât win a popularity contest with his own voters. And heâs about to get the job again by default.
Whoâs Saying It Out Loud
This isnât a few angry posters. Look at whoâs on the record, and look at when they said it. Most of these came after Democrats won, which kills the argument that dissent was just losers looking for someone to blame.
- Incoming senators. Peggy Flanagan (MN), Troy Jackson (ME), Abdul El-Sayed (MI), Juliana Stratton (IL), and Adam Hamilton (KS) all want new leadership. Annie Andrews (SC) told Fox News she wonât support Schumer. James Talarico (TX) has expressed doubts [4][23].
- Sitting senators. Chris Van Hollen said there should be no coronation and is reportedly open to running [24]. Elissa Slotkin declined to back Schumer and wonât rule out a run herself [5].
- Indivisible. Called for new Senate leadership on November 4 and sent every Democratic senator a memo demanding a contested election [6].
- Organized labor. The Machinists union, about 600,000 members, asked Schumer to step aside for a new generation [7].
- The grassroots. In an Our Revolution survey of more than 4,300 activists, 72% wanted someone other than Schumer and 52% wanted someone other than Jeffries [8].
Hereâs how the movement looks on Bluesky.
Senator Schumer should step aside as leader. Every Democrat in the Senate should call for him to do so, and begin making plans for new leadership immediately.
· Indivisible (@indivisible.org) March 15, 2025
That one is from March 2025, after Schumer handed Republicans the votes on their funding bill. Indivisible has been saying this for twenty months.
South Carolina Senator-elect Annie Andrews confirms to Fox News anchor Bret Baier that she will not support Chuck Schumer
· Yashar Ali (@yasharali.bsky.social) November 6, 2026
50501 is supporting Chris Van Hollen for Senate Majority Leader.
· 50501: The People's Movement (@50501movement.bsky.social) November 6, 2026
Sign the Petitions
The petitions moved faster than the senators. The Schumer petitions cleared 100,000 signatures within a day of launch [11]. The biggest one, âHouse Democrats: Choose a New Speaker,â passed one million signatures by November 9 [12].
Full disclosure, because the other side will bring it up. That Jeffries petition was started by a paid Change.org ambassador, and the petition page says so [26]. Jeffries allies are calling it astroturf. A million people still signed it. Astroturf doesnât get a million signatures in five days. Real anger does.
| Petition | Target | Signatures |
|---|---|---|
| House Democrats: Choose a New Speaker | Jeffries | 1,094,983 (Nov. 9) |
| Replace Chuck Schumer as Senate Majority Leader | Schumer | 75,000+ (Nov. 5) |
| Senate Democrats: Choose a New Majority Leader | Schumer | 43,000+ (Nov. 5) |
| Schumer: Step Down (MoveOn) | Schumer | Ongoing since 2025 |
The Protests at Their Doors
People have been showing up in person, too. On April 13, Jewish Voice for Peace occupied the lobby of Schumer and Gillibrandâs Manhattan offices, then blocked the street outside. Police arrested close to 100 people [19]. Their demand was simple. Back the Sanders resolutions blocking more than $600 million in bombs to Israel and stop the war with Iran.
The pressure hasnât let up since the election. On November 6, climate and community groups including Indivisible Brooklyn marched from Schumerâs Park Slope home to Jeffriesâ Fort Greene district office [20]. Three days later, activists were back at Schumerâs Midtown office [21]. Both actions targeted a permitting bill that would fast-track AI data centers, with the slogan âNo blank checks for Big Tech.â
None of these were rallies to oust the two leaders. Theyâre something more telling. The base keeps showing up at the doors of its own leadership to ask for basic opposition, and it keeps getting told to wait.
The Failures Pile Up
Pick a crisis and youâll find the same move. Hesitate, negotiate with people who donât negotiate, then claim credit later.
| When | What leadership did |
|---|---|
| March 2025 | Schumer supplied the votes to advance the GOP funding bill [6] |
| November 2025 | Eight Democratic senators voted to end the shutdown with no ACA concessions [22] |
| December 2025 | Jeffries dismissed Thanedar's Hegseth impeachment articles [16] |
| September 2026 | Jeffries declined to back a Republican's Hegseth impeachment [13] |
And then thereâs Israel. AIPAC publicly congratulated both men after the election, and at least one incoming House Democrat answered with a one-word reply. âBye.â [25] The base wants an end to arming a genocide. Its two most powerful leaders keep standing on the other side of the barricade, and the lobby that funds that position is thanking them for it.
The Honest Part
Thereâs no declared challenger yet. Van Hollen keeps saying a run isnât his focus, even as he takes calls [24]. In the House, nobody has stepped up against Jeffries at all. One Democratic chief of staff said constituents keep asking for Jamie Raskin [25]. Constituent calls donât make a candidate.
And yes, Democrats just won big under these two. Thatâs their whole argument. Some lawmakers say itâs the wrong moment to swap leaders after a landslide [3].
Iâm not buying it. Voters picked Democrats because Trumpâs war, Trumpâs cuts, and Trumpâs chaos made the choice easy. They didnât vote for Chuck Schumerâs patience. The win hands Democrats the power to act. Whether these two will use it is the whole question, and their record says to bet against it.
So the demand stays simple. Contested, public leadership elections in both chambers, with candidates running on written commitments. Impeach Hegseth. Use every procedural weapon. Stop asking permission. If Schumer and Jeffries can win that fight, fine. Make them win it.
Call your senators before the December ballot. Call your representative before January 3. Tell them no coronation.
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