WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer is vowing that Democrats will not allow President Donald Trump to put “a right-winger” on the Supreme Court once they take power, raising the possibility that his party could block a presidential nominee if there is a vacancy in the next two years.
In an interview with The Associated Press on Thursday, Schumer would not say if he would hold a Supreme Court vacancy open until after the next presidential election, as former Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell did in 2016. But he said that Democrats are “not going to allow any crappy nominees” to be confirmed to the Supreme Court — or to the lower courts or Trump’s Cabinet, either.
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Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., speaks at the Center for American Progress (CAP) post election forum, Thursday, Nov. 5, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., speaks at the Center for American Progress (CAP) post election forum, Thursday, Nov. 5, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., speaks at the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee office, Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Allison Robbert)
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., speaks at the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee office, Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Allison Robbert)
“The bottom line is we’re not going to allow a right-winger on the court,” Schumer said.
Schumer’s pledge came two days after Democrats won a decisive Senate majority in the midterm elections — a feat few predicted a year ago, when Schumer was facing intense criticism from progressives within his party and Senate Republicans were betting that a favorable map and backing from Trump would help them keep power.
While there is still frustration with Schumer in some corners of the party, the New Yorker is expected to easily be reelected as leader by his caucus after leading them to wins in Republican-leaning states across the country. Democrats could have as many as 56 seats in the Senate if they win Mississippi and Alaska, which still have not been called — “a durable majority,” Schumer predicts, that has been 20 years in the making as he has been directly or indirectly in charge of his party’s Senate campaign operation.
With so many seats, Schumer is betting that “it’s not just a flip of the Senate once.” And the party will have the power not only to reject any of Trump’s nominees, forcing him to seek more moderate choices, but also to halt the Iran war and alter policies that they have been unable to counter in the minority.
Schumer says the party’s agenda will center around lowering prices, along with five issues that they have focused on in the minority — healthcare, housing, Trump’s tariffs, childcare and lowering energy bills. He has said Democrats will try to ban federal elected officials from stock trades, and limit consumer costs from data center expansion.
Democrats also want to investigate Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids across the country and scrutinize the Trump administration, which he says is the “most corrupted administration by far in American history.”
But Schumer would not get into specifics, or how he plans to get around Trump — who posted a picture of a red hat with the word “veto” in large letters on election night.
Beyond Trump, Schumer will also have to navigate his own caucus, including progressives who have criticized him and incoming freshman who won red states and would not commit to supporting him for leader during their campaigns. And to pass any legislation, he will still have to win Republican support as well.
He predicts that Republicans will suffer more losses “and keep following Trump over the cliff” if they don't work with Democrats in a bipartisan way.
But that will not be easy. Schumer would not say if he would try and eliminate the filibuster, which he tried and failed to do when he was majority leader during President Joe Biden’s term, to allow Democrats to pass legislation with a simple majority instead of 60 votes.
“The focus has got to be on getting things done,” he says. “That’s all I am saying.”
Asked if he would support a third Trump impeachment after Trump was impeached and acquitted twice during his first term, Schumer responds that he would support an impeachment of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, an effort that House lawmakers have already launched.
And Trump? “That’s up to the House,” Schumer said.
Schumer first led his party’s campaign arm in the 2006 cycle and has had a hand in every election since then, with mixed results.
He attributes this year's wins to good candidates and a focus on local issues in Republican states — the effect of Trump’s tariffs on farms in Iowa, where Democrat Josh Turek won, Trump’s war with Canada in Maine, where Democrat Troy Jackson beat Republican Sen. Susan Collins, and data centers in Ohio, where former Sen. Sherrod Brown won after losing his seat two years ago to Republican Sen. Bernie Moreno.
Still, the party's focus on lowering costs was “a message that resonated everywhere,” he says. “That’s a big difference than in the past.”
The Democrats who won were not all his recruits — in Michigan, Democrat Abdul El-Sayed represents the progressive wing of the party and beat Schumer’s original choice for the seat, Haley Stevens, in the primary. But Schumer poured $67 million into that race to help El-Sayed and the two “talk regularly,” he said.
Even with his winning record this year, it is still unclear how long he will stay in power — and how long the party will support him as some call for a new generation of leadership. He is up for reelection in 2028, and he won’t say if he’ll run again for a sixth term.
“I’m focused on 2027,” said Schumer, who became the party's Senate leader in 2015.
Senators in his caucus are sticking by him, but many are also agitating for change as they enter a new era of power.
Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen, a potential contender for the 2028 presidential nomination who has not committed to supporting Schumer, said in an interview with the AP on Wednesday that Democrats need to have an “open and honest discussion” about the next leader.
Vermont Sen. Peter Welch said in a separate interview that Schumer “has to adjust and open things up and take into account the criticism of our efforts.”
Still, Welch said, there’s no indication of a leadership challenge. “Schumer did an incredible job on this campaign,” he said.
Associated Press writers Joey Cappelletti and Lisa Mascaro contributed to this report.
Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., speaks at the Center for American Progress (CAP) post election forum, Thursday, Nov. 5, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., speaks at the Center for American Progress (CAP) post election forum, Thursday, Nov. 5, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., speaks at the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee office, Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Allison Robbert)
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., speaks at the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee office, Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Allison Robbert)
ASUNCIÓN, Paraguay (AP) — Paraguayan President Santiago Peña is under criminal investigation following the collapse of a major digital bank, prosecutors announced, hours after the South American leader’s resignation and impeachment Thursday.
The crisis at Ueno Bank turned Peña’s long-ruling Colorado Party against him, a stunning reversal for the former International Monetary Fund economist who had enjoyed the backing of the country's most powerful politicians and was welcomed in Washington just weeks ago as a key ally of the Trump administration.
Minutes after Peña’s announcement, the lower house voted 78-0 to impeach him; on Thursday evening, the Senate was debating whether to remove him from office. If he is removed from office, Vice President Pedro Alliana would be sworn in.
Legislators opted not to accept Peña's resignation, meaning he could be stripped of legal protections that would prevent his prosecution, should Paraguay’s Attorney General Emiliano Rolón Fernández opt to file charges.
Rolón has ordered three criminal investigations into the Ueno Bank crisis, including allegations involving Peña and other current and former government officials, the prosecutor’s office said Thursday.
The investigations will examine authorities’ oversight of the bank, their handling of its failure and the placement of public funds in the lender.
Peña, whose spokesman said he remains in the capital, wrote on X that he would cooperate with investigators. “Whatever the outcome of this process, I will act with responsibility and respect for the Constitution.”
Earlier Thursday, Peña said in a video posted to X that he was stepping down in the interest of “the stability of our country, social peace and the need to preserve our democratic institutions.”
Even Peña’s mentor, Colorado Party leader and former President Horacio Cartes, backed impeachment, saying the party would not side with “the plundering of public and private funds and pensioners’ money.” The United States Treasury sanctioned Cartes in 2023 over bribery allegations, but the Trump administration lifted the sanctions last year.
Peña, who until last year held a stake in a company linked to Ueno, expressed contrition. But he stopped short of accepting responsibility for the turmoil, which has left millions of depositors, retirees and workers scrambling to recoup their frozen savings and unpaid wages.
“I want to apologize to the people if I have failed them at any point,” he said. “It was never my intention to betray the trust they placed in me."
Ueno Bank, which exploded from an obscure finance company to a household name in less than five years, claimed more than 60% of Paraguay’s adults as customers. Many Paraguayans are left asking how a bank linked to the president could grow so rapidly in size and importance despite repeated warnings about its lending practices.
The answer lies in the uncomfortable proximity of Peña’s Colorado Party to the country’s regulators and business elite, a weakness that has endured even as steady economic management and rapid growth recently earned Paraguay coveted investment-grade credit ratings.
“Santiago Peña and the Colorado Party have stolen all our savings,” said Luis Pineda, one of the protesters marching to Congress on Wednesday. “We are fed up with 70 years of plunder.”
Soon after winning its banking license in 2023, Ueno seemed to be everywhere in Paraguay. The digital lender, a rebranded version of a decades-old finance company, lured customers with generous cash-back offers on groceries as it grew to more than 70 locations, sponsored Paraguay's national soccer team and plastered its name on the country's main stadium.
Government money poured into Ueno’s coffers under Peña. He also appointed Carlos Carvallo, president of Financiera Ueno, the predecessor to Ueno Bank, to run the central bank, the agency charged with supervising the digital lender.
As of last month, Ueno reported holding roughly $800 million in public deposits, about a quarter of its total, including money from the state pension and health fund and the operators of Paraguay’s giant hydroelectric dams.
But worries were escalating inside the central bank. In June, its inspectors found a pattern of risky lending to insiders, reported ABC Color, a leading Paraguayan newspaper. Ueno had extended large sums to companies tied to its owners, beyond what the law allows and without enough collateral to cover the debts if they went bad.
As recently as last month, Peña defended Ueno and the central bank’s oversight, dismissing the concerns as a smear campaign that was spooking the public.
But on Monday, it all came crashing down. Regulators investigating Ueno’s loans to companies linked to its owners found poorly documented lending, the central bank said, as well as expenses the bank had wrongly counted as assets.
Once the books were corrected, Ueno’s capital, the cushion banks must keep to absorb losses, fell to less than half the legal minimum. The central bank announced the lender’s seizure Tuesday, beginning a process to transfer deposits and recoverable assets to other banks before liquidating what remained.
Ueno’s app, cards and transfers went dark and its branches locked their doors, leaving desperate depositors lined up outside. On Wednesday, a rush to open new accounts elsewhere crashed other banks’ mobile apps, fueling public panic.
Officials have appealed for calm. Under a law rushed through Congress on Wednesday, a state guarantee fund must repay stranded depositors within five business days, starting Thursday with small accounts of up to about $1,600. The fund insures up to about $36,000 per customer, which the central bank says will cover the full balances of an estimated 97% of clients.
On Thursday, a judge ordered six Ueno executives, including founder Miguel Vázquez and bank President Juan Manuel Gustale, jailed pending trial and two others placed under house arrest. Prosecutors have charged 27 bank officials and associates with breach of trust and attempted fraud.
Gustale’s lawyer pushed back on the charges, arguing that senior executives had relied on staff for lending decisions. “The president or board is not responsible for deciding who receives a particular loan,” José Fernández Zacur told local media.
Still in their Ueno uniforms, young employees burned their credit cards and cursed Peña outside the Labor Ministry on Thursday, demanding severance and unpaid wages. Peña’s resignation did little to calm them.
“Let the impeachment process take place and let him lose his immunity,” said Adolfo Villalba, one of the protesters on Thursday.
The Labor Ministry estimates the collapse has affected about 7,000 direct and indirect jobs at the bank and its related businesses.
Many saw Ueno’s collapse as a case study in official corruption. Only Venezuela ranks worse in South America on Transparency International’s latest index of perceived corruption.
“This is yet another assault on honest, hard-working citizens, people whose small savings are the fruit of years of labor,” said Belarmino Balbuena, one of thousands who marched on Congress in the capital, Asunción, on Wednesday.
Jorge Sáenz contributed to this story. Nayara Batschke contributed from Montevideo, Uruguay and DeBre reported from Buenos Aires, Argentina.
People protest in front of police against the government and Ueno Bank, which Paraguay's central bank seized amid a solvency crisis, in Asuncion, Paraguay, Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Jorge Saenz)
Deputy Carlos Pereira speaks during a discussion on the impeachment of President Santiago Peña in Paraguay's lower house of Congress, as banners reading "Impeachment Now" are displayed on opposition lawmakers' desks in Asuncion, Paraguay, Thursday, Nov. 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Jorge Saenz)
FILE - Paraguay President Santiago Peña speaks to the media at United Nations headquarters, Sept. 19, 2023. (AP Photo/Ted Shaffrey, File)
People protest in front of police against the government and Ueno Bank, which Paraguay's central bank seized amid a solvency crisis, in Asuncion, Paraguay, Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Jorge Saenz)
A demonstrator holds a mock U.S. dollar bill depicting Paraguayan President Santiago Peña during a protest against the government and Ueno Bank, which Paraguay's central bank seized amid a solvency crisis, in Asuncion, Paraguay, Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Jorge Saenz)
People protest against the government and Ueno bank, which Paraguay's central bank has seized amid a solvency crisis in Asuncion, Paraguay, Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Jorge Saenz)
People protest against the government and Ueno bank, which Paraguay's central bank has seized amid a solvency crisis in Asuncion, Paraguay, Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Jorge Saenz)
Executives of Ueno Bank, taken over by Paraguay's central bank amid a solvency crisis, arrive in custody at the anti-corruption prosecutor's office in Asuncion, Paraguay, Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Jorge Saenz)
People protest against the government and Ueno bank, which Paraguay's central bank has seized amid a solvency crisis, in Asuncion, Paraguay, Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Jorge Saenz)
Executives of Ueno Bank, taken over by Paraguay's central bank amid a solvency crisis, arrive in custody at the anti-corruption prosecutor's office in Asuncion, Paraguay, Wednesday, Nov. 4, 2026 (AP Photo/Jorge Saenz)
