Speaking to Fox News Digital in a New Hampshire event, Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) explained how he thinks it is time for “new leadership” in the Democratic Party in the wake of the debacle and disaster that was the failed Schumer Shutdown, a clear shot across the bow of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s failed leadership.
For reference, both the Democratic Party and Republican Party are facing calls to bring in some newer and younger faces as the same politicians hold onto power year after year, as former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi was known for until she announced that she would be retiring in 2026 after decades in the House.
Further, Democrats have been in a bad way since the shutdown ended because they got nothing they ostensibly wanted out of it, with Republicans refusing to appropriate money to continued Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) subsidies or non-citizen healthcare funded by taxpayers. That total failure significantly weakened Schumer’s hold on the party.
Sen. Booker, for his part, insisted that it is time for a new, younger generation of Democratic leaders to “step up the stage” and replace the party’s failed leadership that has led it into the debacle that was the shutdown and 2024 election with some more competent “new leadership” that at least fights harder and more effectively for what Democrats want. That means Schumer has gotten bad news, as he could be facing a revolt from within his own ranks.
Such is what Booker indicated as the shutdown ended, writing, “the Democratic Party needs change. It needs a new generation of leaders to stand up to Trump.” Asked by Fox News Digital if those comments were aimed at Schumer, he said, “I’m pointing these comments at anybody who will listen to me.”
Continuing, Booker noted that the prior generation of leaders has much that it can be proud of, but it’s time for them to step aside and be replaced by newer, younger leaders. He said, “Chuck Schumer’s generation, Nancy Pelosi’s generation, John Lewis’s generation. They have so much to be proud of. It is time, though, for new leadership.”
Further, he argued that the stage is set for younger leaders to step up and replace the likes of Schumer and Pelosi, saying, “The other generations, X, millennials, Z, — it’s time for us to step up. The stage is waiting for us to lead, not just the party, but the nation right now.”
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Further, when asked about the Democrats who bucked Schumer’s demands and voted with the Republican spending bill to reopen the government, Schumer said, “I played football, and that play is behind me. Now I want everybody back in the huddle, tighten your chin straps, because we’ve got to fight forward and the end zone, for me, is very simple. It is lowering people’s healthcare costs, lowering people’s grocery costs, lowering people’s energy costs, and getting an America that works for everybody, not just the wealthiest of the wealthy.”
Booker also indicated that he has 2028 presidential aspirations, saying, “Of course, I’m thinking about it. Haven’t ruled it out. But I’m up on the ballot in New Jersey in ’26 and that is my focus.” He further said, Fox News Digital reports, “Don’t talk to me about ’28 until you show me where you stand and who you stand for in ’26. I stand for New Jersey. I stand for America and an America that works for everybody.”
Watch Booker here:
Featured image credit: screengrab from the embedded video