WASHINGTON — Firebrand Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez sidestepped a question about whether Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer should step aside after Dems caved in the government shutdown fight, amid buzz of her eyeing a 2028 primary against him.
The Queens and Bronx congresswoman faulted Senate Democrats overall and blasted the eight who let Republicans wrangle a bill through the upper chamber to end the record-breaking government shutdown.
“I think what is so important for folks to understand is that this problem is bigger than one person, and it actually is bigger than the minority leader in the Senate,” Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), 36, told reporters Wednesday when asked if Senate Democrats should chuck Schumer (D-NY), 74, as their leader.
“You had eight Senate Democrats who coordinated their own votes on this,” she continued. “A leader is a reflection of the party, and Senate Democrats have selected their leadership to represent them. And so the question needs to be bigger than just one person.”
She also acknowledged the speculation that she may challenge Schumer in the 2028 election cycle — but stressed that’s “years from now.”
Ocasio-Cortez is also rumored to be weighing a 2028 presidential run.
Back in March, Schumer had refrained from blocking a GOP-backed measure to prevent a government shutdown, drawing the wrath of his left flank. Polling quickly pegged Ocasio-Cortez as besting him in a primary.
This time around, Schumer consistently voted to block a GOP effort to reopen the government, holding the line in Democrats’ demands that Republicans make key concessions on healthcare policy.
Ultimately, five of his caucus members flipped on Sunday, joining the other three defectors in voting to advance a measure to reopen the government without securing any ironclad commitments from Republicans on healthcare.
Pressed about whether she has confidence in Schumer, Ocasio-Cortez evasively explained that she “certainly disagreed with what just happened.”
“We had a responsibility to develop, to deliver on health care subsidies, and the Senate failed to do that,” she continued.
No sitting senator has publicly called on Schumer to step aside so far, but about half a dozen House Democrats and at least four Dem Senate candidates have.
The Post reached out to a Schumer spokesperson for comment.
“None of these people are senators or know the details of what happened in the Senate this week,” a Schumer spokesman told The Post earlier this week of the calls for him to step aside.
“Sen. Schumer has led the fight on the health care crisis, and will continue to do so.”
The Senate passed a measure to reopen the government on Tuesday, and now the House will take that up later Wednesday and is expected to send it to President Trump’s desk.
The government has been shut down for a record-breaking 42 days.
