El-Sayed declines to say whether he’ll back Schumer for Senate majority leader

Abdul El-Sayed, the Democratic senator-elect from Michigan, declines to say in multiple interviews whether he’ll support keeping Chuck Schumer as the party’s Senate leader.

Because Democrats won the Senate in yesterday’s midterm elections, Schumer is set to become the chamber’s majority leader, a position he last held in 2024.

Schumer, a moderate, has been a longtime pro-Israel stalwart in Washington, though he has been critical of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and in 2024 called on him to step down. El-Sayed, a progressive who routinely accuses Israel of genocide, is set to become one of its harshest critics in the Senate.

Speaking to The Associated Press, El-Sayed declines to commit to supporting Schumer for another term as Democratic leader, saying he does not yet know who else might run.

“I do believe we need new leadership and I think people are hungry for it,” El-Sayed adds.

Answering the same question in an interview on NBC, El-Sayed says, “We need action, we need leadership toward that action, and I’m interested to see, working with the rest of our caucus, what options we’ve got.”

Because the Democrats will hold at least 54 seats in the Senate, El-Sayed’s vote on the leadership will not be decisive. Schumer is expected to retain the leadership position.

Schumer supported El-Sayed’s Senate race. When Democratic Rep. Haley Stevens, who was backed by Schumer but lost to El-Sayed in the primary, endorsed El-Sayed’s Republican opponent, Schumer said in a statement, “This is a despicable betrayal from Rep. Stevens. Senate Democrats are united in our support for Abdul El-Sayed, because we know he will fight for the economic interests of working families in Michigan.”