Chuck Schumer

Chuck Schumer (Democratic Party) is a member of the U.S. Senate from New York. He assumed office on January 3, 1999. His current term ends on January 3, 2029.

Senate Democrats unanimously elected Schumer as Senate minority leader in November 2016.1 On January 20, 2021, he became Senate majority leader after Vice President Kamala Harris (D) was sworn into office, assuming her role as president — and tie-breaker — of the 50-50 Senate.2 Schumer was unanimously re-elected as majority leader for the 118th Congress in December 2022, and was elected minority leader for the 119th Congress in December 2024.3

Schumer was born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1950. He graduated from Harvard University with a degree in social studies in 1971 and received a J.D. from Harvard Law School in 1974.4 As an undergraduate, he was president of the Harvard Young Democrats.5 Schumer passed the New York Bar in 1975 but did not practice law.6