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Chuck Schumer
NY · At-large
In plain English: One of New York's two U.S. senators. Senators vote on federal laws, confirm judges and cabinet officials, and approve treaties. As a party leader, they also speak for their party in the chamber and help decide which bills reach the floor.
Term
1999-01-03 – 2029-01-03
Next election
2028-11-07Not on the Nov 3, 2026 ballot. Current term runs to Jan 3, 2029; next reelection contest is Nov 2028. As of Oct 2026 he has not said whether he will seek a sixth term.
Running for
Not recorded
Committees
Senate Minority Leader (ex officio roles)
Charles Ellis Schumer (D) is the senior U.S. Senator from New York and Senate Minority Leader (since Jan 3, 2025; Majority Leader Jan 2021-Jan 2025; Democratic leader since Jan 2017). Born Nov 23, 1950, in Brooklyn. He graduated from Harvard College and Harvard Law School, was elected to the NY State Assembly at 23 (1974), served in the U.S. House (1981-1999), and won the Senate seat in 1998 by defeating incumbent Alfonse D'Amato. He has served in the Senate since Jan 3, 1999, and was reelected in 2022 with 56.8%.
Bio source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chuck_Schumer
1. Follow the money, in plain English
What we don’t have yet: verified donor records for this leader. Pending donor data source: will be backfilled; never estimated
Every money claim on this page carries its source and its confidence level; the full item-by-item money record is in the evidence below.
2. What they promised
Each promise is tracked against documented votes and actions. A status is set only from the record; where a promise has not been tested yet, the card says so.
- PROMISEOn the record
"Lower costs are going to be the North Star now and through all of 2026." Schumer has since made affordability the centerpiece of his 2026 midterm messaging. Status so far: In May 2026, he said on the Senate floor that Senate Democrats would support real action to lower costs.
- PROMISEOn the record
"I am running for reelection for leader. Period," and (answering yes to a sixth straight term): "I'm looking forward to getting things done for the American people." He said the bid did not depend on Democrats retaking the Senate.
- PROMISEOn the record
"We must enforce the War Powers Act and I'm urging Leader Thune to put it on the Senate floor immediately. I am voting for it and implore all Senators on both sides of the aisle to vote for it." Per his Sept 24, 2026 statement, Democrats had forced 14 votes seeking to end the conflict. Status so far: He voted Yea on H.Con.Res. 86 on June 23, 2026, which passed 50-48, and Yea on H.Con.Res. 89 on Sept 24, 2026, which did not pass, 49-50. In May 2026, he urged Republicans on the Senate floor to back Senator Merkley's war powers resolution.
- PROMISEOn the record
"We will not give up the fight," on health care and ACA subsidies, after the shutdown-ending cloture vote. Status so far: He voted Nay on Nov 9, 2025, on cloture for H.R. 5371, the shutdown-ending package, which advanced 60-40. The record notes the signed deal contained none of the Democrats' health-care demands and the enhanced ACA subsidies expired Dec 31, 2025.
3. The evidence
Everything on this page comes from the record below, grouped so you can find things: what they said, what they did, money and influence, and what happened after. Every item carries its date, its source, and the date we last verified it.
Open the full record ↓
What they said
- STATEMENT
"If Republicans vote no, they'll be saying to the American people, you should not see the Epstein files," and "I asked my Republican colleagues, after all those years you spent calling for accountability, for transparency, for getting to the bottom of these awful crimes, 'Why won't you vote yes?'"
- FACT
The Senate agreed 51-49 to the Thune motion to table Schumer amendment #3849 to S. 2296 (FY2026 NDAA). The amendment would have directed the Attorney General to make publicly available documents related to Jeffrey Epstein. Schumer voted against tabling (for his amendment). Republicans Josh Hawley and Rand Paul joined all Democrats in voting against the tabling motion. The amendment died, never considered on the merits.
- STATEMENT
"President Trump must provide the American people and Congress clear answers on the actions taken tonight and their implications for the safety of Americans. No president should be allowed to unilaterally march this nation into something as consequential as war with erratic threats and no strategy... We must enforce the War Powers Act and I'm urging Leader Thune to put it on the Senate floor immediately. I am voting for it and implore all Senators on both sides of the aisle to vote for it."
- STATEMENT
Urged Republicans to back Senator Merkley's war powers resolution, said "Donald Trump dragged America into a war, an illegal, costly war without any goals without any endgame," and said Senate Democrats would support real action to lower costs.
- STATEMENT
"Senate Republicans voted down today's War Powers Resolution and once again own the exorbitant cost this war has placed on Americans at home and abroad," and "From the start, I've said that this war is bigger than politics, yet Senate Republicans continue to put party over people." Also said Democrats had now forced 14 votes seeking to end the conflict.
- STATEMENT
Framed avoiding a shutdown as the strategic choice, arguing a shutdown would cloud the bigger fight against Trump's tax proposals and give Trump and the DOGE Service more unilateral control over federal agencies. Progressive and House Democrats were furious at the decision.
- STATEMENT
Said he could not "in good faith" support the deal, said Democrats had "sounded the alarm" on health care, and said "We will not give up the fight."
- FACT
The president signed the shutdown-ending law. The deal contained none of the Democrats' health-care demands; Republicans promised only a floor vote (no passage guarantee) on an ACA subsidy bill in December. The enhanced ACA subsidies expired Dec 31, 2025. CNN reported Nov 16, 2025 that Schumer's net favorability among Democratic voters had fallen to minus four points, the lowest for a Senate Democratic leader since such polling began in 1985.
- ALLEGATION
Thune called Schumer's Epstein amendment "a stunt" and said "we'll dispose of it," per a Sept 10, 2025 post by reporter Burgess Everett. Thune's characterization, not an independent fact.
- ALLEGATION
The Daily Caller reported Schumer issued a press release taking credit for more than $2.6 million in federal funding for Southern Tier and Catskills, NY communities secured in a funding package he had voted against on the Senate floor. The NRCC called the broader practice hypocrisy. His statement text is verified; the hypocrisy framing is the outlet's.
- STATEMENT
Schumer, Jeffries, Gillibrand, DelBene, Beshear, and Monroe-Moreno announced a D.C. District Court lawsuit 'to stop Trump's illegal efforts to federalize elections and intimidate voters': 'Donald Trump and Republicans are trying to bully state and local election officials into denying ballots to eligible American voters. The Constitution is clear that states run elections, not the president.'
What they did
- VOTE
H.R. 1968: Full-Year Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2025 Yea on Cloture on motion to proceed (62-38, advanced)
- VOTE
H.R. 1968: Full-Year Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2025 Nay on Final passage (54-46, passed)
- VOTE
Schumer Amdt #3849 to S. 2296: Amendment directing AG to release Epstein documents (FY2026 NDAA) Nay (against tabling; for his amendment) on Thune motion to table the amendment (51-49, tabled, amendment killed)
- VOTE
H.R. 5371: Shutdown-ending package Nay on Cloture on motion to proceed (60-40, advanced (8 Democrats broke ranks))
- VOTE
H.Con.Res. 86: Iran war powers resolution Yea on On agreeing to the resolution (50-48, passed both chambers (symbolic; concurrent resolutions do not go to the president))
- VOTE
H.Con.Res. 89: Iran war powers resolution Yea on On agreeing to the resolution (49-50, blocked)
Money and influence
- DATA UNAVAILABLE
Pending donor data source: will be backfilled; never estimated
No influences documented.
What happened after
- OUTCOME
Became Senate Minority Leader as Republicans took the 53-47 majority in the 119th Congress (had been Majority Leader Jan 2021-Jan 2025). Status: completed
- OUTCOME
Reelected to the Senate with 56.8% against Republican Joe Pinion. Status: completed
No ethics investigations, censures, or formal complaints against Schumer surfaced in the records checked.
Sources
Evidence
Related receipts
No receipts filed for this leader yet.
Every factual item carries its source, date, and last-verified stamp. Items marked unavailable are genuinely missing. Never filled in.