The Same-Species TestSchumer, Jeffries, and Every Leader in Washington

On November 18, House Democrats vote on whether Hakeem Jeffries leads them into the 120th Congress. In January, the full House decides whether he becomes Speaker. Senate Democrats will decide whether Chuck Schumer keeps the job he has held for a decade.

Millions of Americans are already asking whether these two men should lead. They’re asking on TikTok, at town halls, and in petitions that have passed 100,000 signatures. I want to ask it properly. Not with memes. With the record.

This is not about party. I am an independent. I don’t get a vote in either caucus. What I have is a standard, and I intend to hold every leader in Washington to it. I’m starting with the two men who are being chosen right now.

Better or Worse

Chuck Schumer has served in Congress since 1981 and has led Senate Democrats for a decade. Hakeem Jeffries has served since 2013 and has led House Democrats since 2023. That is nearly sixty years in Washington between them.

To be fair, for the last two years they sat in the minority. Republicans held the White House, the House, and the Senate. They did not write every law. But leadership is not only what you pass. It is what you fight for, and what you refuse to give away.

In March 2025, Schumer backed a Republican stopgap funding bill that most House Democrats opposed. In November 2025, his caucus broke again to end the shutdown on Republican terms. His own party’s young voters, House members, and Senate candidates called for him to step aside.

So ask yourself. Across those decades, did your rent, your healthcare, your groceries, and your sense of safety get better? Most Americans already know their answer.

Hakeem Jeffries and the Weapons

In July 2026, the House voted on cutting $3.3 billion in U.S. military aid to Israel. 103 Democrats voted yes, including Katherine Clark, the second-ranking Democrat in the House. Hakeem Jeffries voted no, alongside 97 other Democrats and nearly every Republican.

He didn’t just vote. Before the vote he sent a “Dear Colleague” letter urging Democrats to oppose the cut.

This is a pattern, not a single vote. Jeffries supported the April 2024 Israel aid package. In a May 2024 60 Minutes interview, asked whether Israel’s bombing of Gaza had been indiscriminate, he said no.

1. Apr 2024

   Supported the Israel aid package

2. May 2024

   Told 60 Minutes the bombing of Gaza was not indiscriminate

3. Jul 2026

   Sent a “Dear Colleague” letter, then voted no on the $3.3 billion cut

He says American policy in the Middle East must change for the good of Israel and the Palestinian people. He calls for surging humanitarian aid and rebuilding Gaza. But words are cheap when the vote goes the other way.

You cannot rebuild what you keep paying to destroy.

Both men have a defense, and I’ll state it fairly.

• Israel’s security is not Netanyahu.

  Schumer has said you can love Israel while disagreeing strongly with Netanyahu. Jeffries has opposed the far-right Netanyahu government’s conduct in the West Bank.

• They pushed for aid.

  Schumer called on Trump and Netanyahu to urgently surge food and aid into Gaza.

• The votes were symbolic.

  These resolutions needed both chambers and a veto override, and Congress has never blocked an arms sale this way.

• They just won.

  Democrats swept the 2026 midterms under their leadership.

My administration will hold everyone to one standard, through law and not through slogans. That’s the purpose of Executive Order 2029-01: no safe harbor for war crimes, anywhere, for anyone.