US Senate Democratic leader says he is not stepping down amid resignation calls

Chuck Schumer facing criticism from Democrats over his last week's decision to back Republican-drafted funding bill

By Diyar Guldogan

WASHINGTON (AA) - US Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer on Sunday said that he will not step down despite calls for his resignation over his vote to advance a Republican-drafted funding bill.

"Look, I'm not stepping down," Schumer told NBC.

He faced criticism from Democrats over his last week's decision to back the spending bill which helped avoid a government shutdown.

Many Democrats, including Representatives Glenn Ivey and Delia Ramirez, believe that move gave President Donald Trump too much power, and suggested Schumer step aside.

Schumer said the continuing resolution (CR) was "certainly bad", and added a shutdown "would be 15 or 20 times worse."

"Under a shutdown, the executive branch has sole power to determine what is, quote, ‘essential’,” he said.

"And they can determine without any court supervision. The courts have ruled it’s solely up to the executive what to shut down."

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