Meet the Jewish senator emerging as Chuck Schumer’s heir apparent
Brian Schatz’s rise to Democratic whip, and Schumer’s weakening hold, signal the next chapter of Jewish leadership
Senator Brian Schatz from Hawaii, left, and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer from New York, right, on April 1. Photo by Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images
By Jacob Kornbluh August 20, 2025
More than eight years after Chuck Schumer became the nation’s highest-ranking Jewish elected official, Senate Democrats this week indicated that his heir apparent will keep that title as the party ushers in a new generation of leadership.
Sen. Brian Emanuel Schatz of Hawaii has reportedly secured majority support from his Democratic colleagues in his bid to succeed Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois as whip next year. Schumer, who became Democratic leader in 2016, backed Schatz’s bid to become the party’s No. 2, a sign that the veteran leader may be preparing to pass the reins in a transition to a new era.
Schumer, who has escalated his clashes with the Trump administration in recent months after facing calls to step down from his role in March for supporting a Republican spending bill to avert a shutdown, has seen his popularity decline. He faces a leadership vote after next year’s midterms and is up for Senate reelection in 2028. A recent Siena Research poll showed his lowest favorability rating among New York voters since 2005, with only 39% of Democrats viewing him positively. Another survey by the progressive firm Data for Progress found him trailing Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in a potential primary.
Schatz, 52, is a loyal member of Schumer’s leadership team. He was one of 10 Senate Democrats who voted to advance the GOP government funding bill in March. But he has also formed close ties to younger progressive senators and the party’s liberal base, with a focus on climate change. Schatz is ranked as the third most popular U.S. senator, according to a Morning Consult survey.
Should Schumer step down in the coming years, Schatz would be the leading candidate to take over as Democratic leader.
Who is Brian Schatz?
Born an identical twin to Jewish parents in Ann Arbor, Michigan, Schatz was raised in Honolulu, Hawaii, and later became the state’s lieutenant governor and chairman of the state Democratic Party. Schatz became the youngest senator when he was sworn in in December 2012, filling the vacancy left by the death of Daniel Inouye. He was elected in 2014 for the remainder of the term and reelected in 2016.
His family belonged to Temple Emanu-El, a Reform synagogue, where Schatz had his bar mitzvah.
Schatz shared with the Jewish Community Services of Hawaii’s newsletter that he embraces his Jewish identity, which he said stems from his family and his time at the congregation, an experience he described as one of “joy and laughter.”
“Being Jewish is not purely a spiritual or philosophical exercise, but something that happens in three dimensions in the real world,” Schatz said in the interview published earlier this year. “It’s an important reminder that the way you manifest your relationship with God, your heritage, and your tradition is by helping people wherever you can.” He said he never experienced antisemitism growing up until he was elected to federal office.
Schatz is married to Linda Kwok Kai Yun, whose parents emigrated from China and Hong Kong. The couple has two children.
Schatz’s views on Israel and the Gaza war
Like a majority of his colleagues in the Senate these days – and a stark departure from positions long held by Schumer and prior leaders – Schatz advocates for a more balanced foreign policy approach to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
He was an early supporter of a pair of resolutions proposed by Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont to halt arm sales to Israel over the war in Gaza last November. The measures were overwhelmingly defeated. However, a subsequent vote last month — amid the humanitarian crisis in the enclave — drew the support of 27 Democrats, the first time a majority of the conference backed such a measure. Schumer voted against it.
Schatz backed former President Joe Biden’s decision to pause one shipment of 2000-pound bombs to Israel as the IDF moved into Gaza’s population centers.
Last year, Schatz introduced an amendment — supported by Schumer — to a defense funding package that endorsed the creation of a Palestinian state as part of a peace settlement with Israel.
In a floor speech last month, Schatz criticized Israel for allowing the hunger crisis to worsen in Gaza. “The government of Israel is behaving terribly,” he said. “Its conduct of the war is indefensible. And it is not in spite of my Jewishness and my Judaism that I feel this way – it is because of it.”
Like Schumer, Schatz has criticized Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, calling him an impediment to peace in the region. “He is, at every opportunity, making things worse,” he said.
Despite his voting record and criticism of the Gaza war and the Israeli leader, Schatz said that he still views Israel as “our best ally in the Middle East” and “security partner.”
