Chuck Schumer

Charles Ellis Schumer (born November 23, 1950) is an American politician who has represented New York in the United States Senate since 1999. A native of Brooklyn, he graduated from Harvard College and Harvard Law School.^[1]

Born November 23, 1950 in Brooklyn, New York. Age 75 as of 2026.^[5]

Schumer served three terms in the New York State Assembly from 1975 to 1980 and nine terms in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1981 to 1999, representing Brooklyn-anchored districts. He was elected to the Senate in 1998 and became New York's senior senator in 2001. He chaired the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee from 2005 to 2009.^[1]

Schumer was elected leader of the Senate Democratic Caucus in 2016 and took the post in 2017. He served as Senate majority leader from 2021 to 2025, a period in which the Senate passed the American Rescue Plan Act, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, the CHIPS and Science Act and the Inflation Reduction Act. He has served as minority leader again since 2025.^[1][4]

Democrats lost control of the Senate in the 2024 elections, and Schumer moved from majority leader to minority leader in January 2025, the position he continues to hold.^[6]

In March 2025 he drew criticism from within his own party after reversing his opposition to a House-passed continuing resolution, writing that a shutdown would let the administration accelerate cuts to government services.^[6]