Chuck Schumer

Schumer has been married to Iris Weinshall since 1980. They have two daughters, Jessica and Alison, and grandchildren.

Schumer was born and raised in Brooklyn. His father, Abraham Schumer, owned an exterminating business, while his mother, Selma, was a homemaker. Schumer attended public schools, graduated from James Madison High School, and has continued to reside in Brooklyn.

Schumer studied political science at Harvard University, graduating with a bachelor's degree in 1971, and earned a law degree from Harvard Law School in 1974. He passed the New York State bar examination in 1975 but did not pursue a legal career.

In 1974, he was elected to the New York State Assembly. At 24, he became the Assembly's youngest member since Theodore Roosevelt. In 1980, at age 29, he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, where he represented Brooklyn and Queens for 18 years.

During his House career, Schumer became associated with legislation addressing violent crime and domestic violence. He introduced the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act, supported the Violence Against Women Act, helped sponsor the Assault Weapons Ban, and championed the Hate Crimes Prevention Act.

Schumer was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1998 and took office in 1999. He became New York's senior senator after Daniel Patrick Moynihan retired in 2000. He established an annual practice of visiting all 62 counties in New York to meet voters and discuss local concerns.

His Senate work has focused heavily on New York's economy, consumer protection, health care, agriculture, college affordability, and immigration reform. He worked to expand affordable air service in upstate New York, supported measures to bring low-cost generic medications to market, and helped preserve market support programs for the state's dairy farmers and crop growers.

Schumer also helped New York recover from major crises. He worked to secure federal assistance after the September 11 attacks and Superstorm Sandy, while continuing to promote infrastructure and job-creation projects in the state.

In 2016, Senate Democrats elected Schumer to succeed Harry Reid as minority leader. He assumed the position in January 2017 and led Democratic opposition to the Trump administration's efforts to repeal the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, as well as to its Muslim travel ban. He also participated in negotiations that produced the March 2020 COVID-19 relief package.

After Democrats gained control of the Senate following the 2020 elections, Schumer became majority leader on January 20, 2021. He was the first New Yorker to hold that position. Under his leadership, the Senate passed the American Rescue Plan, the Inflation Reduction Act, the CHIPS and Science Act, the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, and a major federal gun-safety law.

Schumer was reelected to the Senate in 2022 for a fifth term. His current Senate term runs through January 3, 2029.