https://www.newsweek.com/over-15k-sign-democrat-petition-against-chuck-schumer-enough-enough-2045421

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat, continues to draw outrage after voting to allow a Republican continuing resolution (CR) funding bill to move forward on Friday, with thousands signing a Democrat petition attempting to force the leader to step down.

Newsweek reached out to Schumer’s office via email for comment Saturday.

Why It Matters

Schumer’s support for moving forward with a stopgap funding bill on Friday has drawn widespread Democratic criticism, including from former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California.

The top Senate Democrat’s support for the bill moving forward, in which he was joined by nine other members of the chamber’s Democratic Caucus, prevented a government shutdown, but was seen by many in his party as a betrayal. Democrats saw the pending shutdown as a point of leverage against President Donald Trump and Republicans, who control both chambers of Congress.

What to Know

Charlotte Clymer, a Democratic operative, launched a Change.org petition this week after Schumer signaled that he’d support moving the funding bill forward. Those who sign the petition are vowing to refuse any donations to official Democratic groups until Schumer steps down as Senate minority leader.

“We, the undersigned, completely reject Mr. Schumer’s approach of appeasement in response to the deeply irresponsible, dangerous, and cruel attacks by Trump and Elon Musk on the American people,” the petition reads.

It continues: “Until Senate Democrats force Mr. Schumer to step down as Minority Leader, we will not give a dime to any Senate Democrat, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, the Democratic National Committee, or any other organization or committee that financially supports any Senate Democrat. Enough is enough. We need new leadership to meet this grave moment, and we need it now.”

As of Sunday afternoon, the petition has 22,358 signatures.

Clymer said anger at Schumer appears to be unifying Democrats.

“I have not seen such uniting anger across the party in a long, long time,” she said, according to Politico. “Sen. Schumer has managed to unite us far more than Trump has in recent months.”

In comments emailed to Newsweek on Saturday, Clymer said she remains “grateful” to the leadership Schumer has provided in the past, but said “it has become abundantly clear he is not the leader for this moment.”

She added: “We are hurtling down a slippery slope, and it appears Leader Schumer is pushing in all our chips on a stack of assumptions that are mostly based on a presumption of good faith in Trump and the Republican Party, which, to date, has been entirely absent.”

Further demonstrating the level of fury at the Senate minority leader, the progressive political action committee Justice Democrats, sent out a text message that read: “F*** Chuck Schumer,” Politico reported.

In a Brooklyn community Facebook group, for a neighborhood near Schumer’s home in the borough, some angry New Yorkers posted their frustration.

“Hey did you know Chuck Schumer lives in our neighborhood? Well, nearby,” one wrote in a Friday post seen by Newsweek. The poster went on to share the address for Schumer’s building. “So if you’re out walking your dog in the park, you know where to drop off the poop bags.”

The New York Democrat said Friday that his support would prevent worse damage to the federal government from Trump and billionaire Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) adviser Musk. Schumer said that a shutdown would allow them to ramp up their efforts to make cuts across federal agencies.

“For sure, the Republican bill is a terrible option. It is deeply partisan. It doesn’t address this country’s needs. But even if the White House says differently, Mr. Trump and Elon Musk want a shutdown. We should not give them one. The risk of allowing the president to take even more power via a government shutdown is a much worse path,” he wrote in a Friday opinion essay for The New York Times.

DOGE, under Musk’s guidance, has been attempting to make widespread cuts across the government. Thousands of federal employees have faced layoffs, while many of the Trump administration’s efforts have faced legal challenges.