Chuck Schumer holds firm, rejecting calls to quit as top Senate Democrat

"Look, I'm not stepping down," Schumer told NBC's "Meet the Press."

Schumer said while the spending bill was "certainly bad" and that he had anticipated his support for it would stir controversy, the other option had been to let the government shut down, which would have been "15 or 20 times worse."

Schumer said during a shutdown the executive branch had sole power to determine what government functions and employees were essential. In such a scenario, Schumer argued, Trump, his cost-cutting adviser Elon Musk and budget chief Russ Vought could "eviscerate the federal government."

U.S. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer on Sunday dismissed calls from some Democratic lawmakers for him to step down as leader in the Senate over his approach to a recently passed government funding bill.

Schumer sparked anger among Democrats last week when he decided not to block a Republican-drafted spending bill that many in the party said gave President Donald Trump, a Republican, too much power.