The Daily Populous Friday April 17th, 2026 night edition
Authored by commondreams.org and submitted by metacyan

Sen. Chuck Schumer faced fresh calls to step aside as the Senate Democratic leader on Wednesday after he broke with the overwhelming majority of his caucus and voted against a pair of resolutions aimed at preventing the Trump administration from selling more US bombs and bulldozers to Israel.

"Mr. Schumer, you are out of touch with the base of this party, and with your own caucus," Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), who first called on Schumer to resign as Democratic leader last year, said in a short video posted to social media following Wednesday's votes. "Step aside."

The two resolutions, led by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), called for halting the sale of around $450 million worth of bulldozers, 1,000-pound bombs, and related military equipment to the Israeli government, which has repeatedly used American weaponry to commit war crimes in the illegally occupied Palestinian territories, Lebanon, and Syria.

Despite facing record support from the Senate Democratic caucus—with 40 votes to block the sale of bulldozers and 36 votes to block the sale of bombs—the resolutions failed to pass, as Senate Republicans united against them.

But strong Democratic opposition to new US weapons sales to Israel was seen as evidence that the party is slowly catching up to its base, which overwhelmingly supports restricting American military aid to Israel.

"The fact that 40 of 47 Democratic senators voted to withhold military hardware from Israel is a new high-water mark in holding Israel accountable for violating US and international law," said Dylan Williams, vice president for government affairs at the Center for International Policy.

Williams went on to rebuke Schumer, who has led the Senate Democrats for nearly a decade, for opposing the resolutions "against the supermajority of his own caucus and Democratic voters."

"It’s well past time for him to step aside for leaders who actually represent the views of the party’s base," said Williams.

Beth Miller, political director of Jewish Voice for Peace Action and a New York City resident, said Schumer and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY)—who also voted against both resolutions—"are betraying their constituents and woefully out of line with the Democratic voter base."

"Instead of sending the bombs that Israel uses to commit war crimes, the people of New York want our representatives to invest in lifesaving policies here at home," said Miller. "We need to stop arming Israel so that the people of Palestine, Lebanon, and Iran, and across the region, can live. Millions of lives depend on it."

The votes on the Israeli arms measures came after the Senate rejected another war powers resolution aimed at withdrawing US forces from the illegal assault on Iran, which President Donald Trump launched without congressional approval—and in partnership with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu—in late February.

Schumer vocally supported the Iran war powers resolution. But one of his colleagues, Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), said the efforts to end the US-Israeli war on Iran and the push to halt weapons sales to Israel are interconnected.

"A vote to approve arms sales to Israel at this time would be seen as a message of approval for Trump and Netanyahu’s disastrous war against Iran. I will not send that message," Markey said in a statement late Wednesday. "Why would we send American military weapons that could prolong, escalate, or worsen this horrible situation in the Middle East? I say no more."

J Street, the pro-Israel liberal advocacy organization, similarly connected the two fights following Wednesday's votes.

"We continue to oppose Trump and Netanyahu’s war of choice against Iran, and applaud those senators whose principled stand in today’s vote reflects the American public’s strong opposition to both the Iran war and to Israel’s actions in Lebanon, Gaza, and the West Bank that undermine efforts for peace in the region," said Jeremy Ben-Ami, the group's president.

Purple_Green_420 on April 16th, 2026 at 14:11 UTC »

He's not out of touch. He's compromised.

Ok_Shoe_1094 on April 16th, 2026 at 14:07 UTC »

He needs to go. HE neeeds to put his ego aside.

NOLA-Bronco on April 16th, 2026 at 14:06 UTC »

I mean he has shown us who he is now for years, he is Israel and wall street first

At this point I think it is clear he is not even hiding it much and is going to retire to the Hamptons(or wherever this level of corruption lands him) in 2028.