March 20, 2025 11:52 AM UTC

Sen. Bennet Deftly Damns Chuck Schumer With Joe Biden's Precedent

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• by: Colorado Pols

UPDATE: Colorado’s other U.S. Senator John Hickenlooper sounds more conciliatory about Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s future, via Axios:

“I think it’s time for Democrats to stop pointing fingers at each other and doing the circular firing squad,” Hickenlooper told us when pressed about whether he would support a leadership change.

This too is a reasonable viewpoint. Now we all find out together which will prevail.

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9NEWS’ Marissa Reeves reports from last night’s town hall in Golden featuring Sen. Michael Bennet and Rep. Brittany Pettersen, who showed up in person once again to hear from and in a few cases take some heat from constituents upset about the Trump 2.0 administration’s chaotic first two months, and who want Democrats to fight harder to slow down the administration’s depredations:

At least seven people were escorted out by police after interrupting the forum Wednesday night. Some attendees shouted at Bennet, accusing him of failing to take a strong stand against Republican policies.

“You’re a joke, Senator, you’re a joke,” one person yelled before being removed. Another criticized Bennet’s past votes, claiming, “The Senator voted to approve Trump’s nominees.”

Others took to chanting, “Step up or step aside.”

The largest theme from the meeting centered around the discussion on how Democrats, including Bennet and Pettersen, plan to push back against President Donald Trump’s policies.

Although both of Colorado’s U.S. Senators came in for some earned criticism for supporting the fellow Coloradan frackvangelist nominated to serve as Energy Secretary, rank-and-file Democrats upset that elected leaders aren’t fighting back hard enough were deeply dismayed by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s decision last week to capitulate on a Republican temporary spending bill rather than allow the federal government to shut down. Neither of Colorado’s U.S. Senators joined Schumer in caving to the GOP majority, and Sen. Michael Bennet in particular has reportedly been vocal about the lack of a strategy to push back against or even provide an alternative message to the GOP’s steamrolling agenda. For these reasons, a great deal of the anger from the left Sen. Bennet and Rep. Pettersen endured last night was misplaced.

And as Politico reported from the same town hall in Golden, in his reserved manner Bennet seems to be getting closer to calling for new Democratic Senate leadership:

Bennet sidestepped a question about whether he would call for Schumer to step down, referencing the end of Biden’s disastrous 2024 election bid where the president ultimately stepped aside after growing agitation from other elected Democrats.

“In dodging your question, let me just say: It’s important for people to know when it’s time to go, [Pols emphasis] and I think in the case of Joe Biden, and we’re going to have conversations I’m sure in the foreseeable future, about all the Democratic leadership,” he said.

Like we said last week, Sen. Bennet and fellow dissenting Colorado Sen. John Hickenlooper were in the right place politically in wanting nothing to do with the House GOP’s spending bill Minority Leader Schumer allowed to pass. Now the question has turned to whether Schumer has the guts to serve in his position at this perilous moment in American history. For Bennet to invoke the still-emotionally raw case of Joe Biden’s exit from the presidential race last year is a telling sign of where his thinking is headed.

If it is time for a change of Senate Democratic leadership, there’s a strong argument for getting it over with quickly so Democrats can focus on the real battles across the aisle.