He needs to go...

‘Do I look stupid?': Warner defers on backing Schumer for leadership

The Virginia Democrat suggested that voices calling for Schumer to step away from his role could quiet down if Democrats win in 2026.

Aiden Reiter

Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) stopped short of endorsing Chuck Schumer as Senate majority leader if Democrats take back the chamber later this year.

“Do I look stupid?” he said Wednesday, expressing an unwillingness to discuss leadership plans and predictions ahead of the 2026 midterms.

“You know, I have my ups and downs with Chuck,” he said in a conversation at POLITICO’s inaugural Economy Summit. “But I am amazed that nobody works harder. Nobody spends more time fundraising.”

He did suggest that voices calling for Schumer to step away from leadership could quiet down if Democrats win in 2026. The New York Democrat has faced criticism from the left over his handling of government funding standoffs over the past year.

“If Democrats do win this time and come back ... I think a lot of the critique of Chuck will go away, because he did a lot of the recruitment, and along with [Sen.] Kirsten [Gillibrand], has done a lot of the fundraising,” he said.

Warner also declined to say if he would pursue the gavel of the Senate Banking Committee if Democrats take control of the Senate. Warner has seniority over Banking’s current ranking member, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), but would have to relinquish his role as top Democrat on the Intelligence Committee to lead the panel.

“I’ve got to get rehired first,” referring to his upcoming reelection campaign.

Warner said he was interested in bringing “bipartisan gangs” back to policymaking on Capitol Hill and warned of the potential for a full-blown energy crisis from conflicts in the Middle East.