When asked by reporters if Schumer should remain the minority leader, Ocasio-Cortez responded: "I think what is so important for folks to understand is that this problem is bigger than one person. And it actually is bigger than the minority leader in the Senate. You had eight Senate Democrats who coordinated…their own votes on this as well as you have two retiring members, many of them who are also up in several cycles from now, with the hope that people are going to forget this moment

The New York lawmaker added, “A leader is a reflection of the party, and Senate Democrats have selected their leadership to represent them. And so, the question needs to be bigger than just one person. We have several Senate primaries this cycle—I know I’m being asked about New York, that is years from now—I have to remind my own constituents because they think that this election is this year. We actually do have Senate elections this year, and my hope is that people across this country actually participate in their primary elections and selecting their leadership.”

Schumer’s leadership has come under fire following a pivotal Senate vote in which eight Democrats joined Republicans to end the government shutdown, defying his recommendations. Representative Ro Khanna, a California Democrat, was among those openly stating, “Schumer is no longer effective and should be replaced.”