Tuesday on CNN’s “The Lead,” Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) should step down because he was not “the right face for the future.”

Host Jake Tapper said, “You’ve called on Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer to step aside. You say he’s no longer effective as a leader. Explain this for our viewers because he he did vote against this compromise that you oppose. Why are you mad at him?”

Khanna said, “Jake, you’ve covered politics a long time. Yes, he voted no but eight senators who said they consulted him daily go and vote yes. One of those people is his number two. He’s not going to do that without Senator Schumer signing off. And then conveniently, all eight of those senators aren’t up for reelection in 2026. This is the D.C. way. Senator Schumer could have blocked this if he had wanted to.”

He added, “There are plenty of good people. Senator Van Hollen, Senator Chris Murphy, Elizabeth Warren, of course, Bernie Sanders, in my view, should have been president. I was a co-chair of his campaign. But here’s the point. We need fresh faces. We need new leadership. I have a lot of respect for Senator Schumer’s 50 years of service. The Inflation Reduction Act, the CHIPS Act, none of that would have passed without him. But he’s not the right face for the moment, and he’s not the right face for the future.”

Follow Pam Key on X @pamkeyNEN