Capitol Police arrested 54 young activists who took over Sen. Chuck Schumer’s office to demand a new Senate Democratic leader and an end to the filibuster.
Story Highlights
- U.S. Capitol Police confirmed 54 arrests at a sit-in inside Schumer’s Washington office.
- Those arrested were charged with crowding, obstructing and incommoding, a charge for blocking or disrupting the use of a space.
- The protesters, from the youth climate group Sunrise Movement, want a new Democratic leader and an end to the filibuster.
- Hours later, Sen. Chris Van Hollen said he plans to run against Schumer for majority leader.
- Schumer said he has the votes to keep his post.
A Sit-In Inside Schumer’s Own Office
On Thursday, November 12, activists with the Sunrise Movement sat in at Schumer’s personal office in the Hart Senate Office Building, one of the buildings where senators work next to the Capitol. They chanted that Schumer “has got to go” and held signs reading “The filibuster kills” and “Schumer: Step up or step aside.” Capitol Police confirmed 54 arrests. Reports did not include a response from Schumer’s office to the sit-in itself, but Schumer said that same night that he welcomes talk about the caucus’s future and has “the votes to continue serving as Democratic Leader.”
The why is the January handover. Democrats are set to take control of the Senate, and Sunrise wants them to use that power to end the filibuster. The filibuster is a Senate rule that lets a minority block most bills unless 60 of the 100 senators vote to end debate. In a press release, Sunrise said the rule lets “wealthy corporations and their political allies” block expansions of health care, unions and green jobs. In a letter to senators, the group said that after a decade of Schumer’s leadership, it was time for change. Kidus Girma, the group’s campaigns director, said young people want a majority leader who will “fight for the young people” who elected a Democratic majority.
What the Activists Want: End the Filibuster, Replace Schumer
Sunrise, which drew national notice in 2018 with a sit-in at then-House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi’s office, said hundreds of its members came to Washington for the protest. The group said about 150 more visited the offices of every Democratic senator to hand over letters asking for new leadership. Girma said more actions aimed at Democratic senators are planned over the next two weeks. Two days earlier, on Tuesday, November 10, three people were arrested at a smaller sit-in at Schumer’s office organized by a different youth group, Get Free.
The filibuster has shaped the Senate for more than a century. In 1917, senators adopted a rule called cloture, a way to end debate, that took a two-thirds vote. In 1975, they lowered the bar to three-fifths, which is 60 votes when all senators are present. Supporters of the rule say it forces any majority to win some support from the other side. Critics, including Sunrise, say it lets a small group stop bills that most senators back.
Democratic Rifts and the Road Ahead
The sit-in landed as Schumer faces an open challenge inside his own party. Van Hollen, a Democratic senator from Maryland, said on Thursday night, “Yes, I am planning to run for the Senate majority leader,” and wrote, “To deliver, we need new leadership.” Sunrise quickly cheered him on. Some incoming Democrats have also spoken up. Senator-elect Abdul El-Sayed of Michigan has backed Van Hollen, and Senator-elect Adam Hamilton of Kansas said the party needs “new, younger leadership.”
Senate Democrats are expected to pick their leader in a secret-ballot vote in early December, which would be the party’s first contested leadership race in decades. Schumer, pointing to his party’s “55 seats and counting,” is still seen as the favorite. For voters who value the filibuster as a check on one-party rule, the outcome matters: without the 60-vote rule, a party with 51 votes could pass sweeping bills on spending, energy and elections on its own.
Sources:
dailywire.com, dailywire.com, commondreams.org, justthenews.com, fullertonobserver.com
