During an appearance on. MSNBC on Saturday morning, an admittedly "angry" Rep. Becca Balint (D-VT) urged her Democratic colleagues in the Senate to reconsider if they want Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) to remain in his leadership position.
Speaking with a sympathetic Katie Phang, the Vermont Democrat also spoke to New York Democrats and pointed out that the 74-year Schumer is not entitled in any way to keep his Senate seat after folding on the budget bill he allowed to come to the Senate floor –– much to Donald Trump's delight.
Joining a chorus of Democrats in the House who feel betrayed by the New Yorker, Balint told host Phang, "On the Democratic side we run the risk of coming across as arrogant and as not listening to what our voters and what Americans are telling us, which is they want us to stand up to this administration and fight for those programs and not let Elon Musk have access to our personal. private data, and to not have them go after programs that we have already funded, and getting rid of our authority as Congress, having the power of the purse."
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"When we back down, this sends the absolute wrong message that we are not willing to fight and that is why I was so furious," she added.
"We don't own our seats," she later added. "It's not Chuck Schumer's seat, it's not Becca Balint's seat. The seats belong to the voters and so the people of New York are going to have to decide, in this moment, was caving the right thing for him to do?"
"And members of the Senate need to do some deep soul-searching about how they want to show up for the American people right now," she continued. "And so I always say we have to continue to do better and not continue to play by playbooks from 20 years ago, and that's where the rage comes from Americans that the Trumpism, the MAGAism has broken the system and yet we continue to play as Democrats as if the system is intact."
"We have to throw punches, we have to be able to go toe to toe and not blink because, if we don't, where does it stop?" she added.
You can watch below or at the link.