Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer insisted that he is not stepping down from his leadership position, as Democratic fury continues to mount over his handling of a spending battle with President Trump.

Long seen as a fixture in the Senate, the 74-year-old senator from New York is in arguably the toughest fight of his political career as he faces criticism from rank-and-file and senior Democrats alike for refusing to risk a government shutdown.

Schumer retirement decision

One of those Democrats is ex-Speaker Nancy Pelosi (CA), the longtime former leader of House Democrats known for her ruthlessness.

Like many Democrats, Pelosi has rebuked Schumer for caving to President Trump by passing a continuing resolution (CR) to fund the government for six months - with Pelosi saying she doesn't "give away anything for nothing."

Many Democrats say Schumer gave up critical leverage, while empowering Trump and Elon Musk to continue slashing the federal government.

During an interview Sunday with NBC's Meet The Press, Schumer dismissed the harsh comments from Pelosi - and defended his vote as a thankless deed to prevent an even worse scenario from happening.

Backlash expected

“Under a shutdown, the executive branch has sole power to determine what is, quote, ‘essential,'” he said. “And they can determine without any court supervision. The courts have ruled it’s solely up to the executive what to shut down."

Schumer said he expected to face backlash from Democrats, but he insisted he did the right thing.

“Look, I’m not stepping down,” Schumer said. “I did it out of pure conviction as to what a leader should do and what the right thing for America and my party was. People disagree.”

"Extraordinary moment"

Still, his handling of the spending issue has reignited a debate about leadership in Congress, with some calling Schumer too timid or cautious to fight against a resurgent Trump.

Schumer used his interview to take rhetorical swings at the president - and push back on Democrats who doubt Schumer is capable of stopping Trump's so-called "constitutional crisis."

"Look, Donald Trump is a lawless, angry man. He thinks he should be king. He thinks he should do whatever he wants, regardless of the law, and he thinks judges should just listen to him," Schumer said.

“Now we have to fight that back in every single way," Schumer continued. "This is an extraordinary moment. It does require extraordinary action. If he defies the Supreme Court, then we are in uncharted territory that we haven’t been in for a very long time," Schumer said.

Of course, Schumer can talk tough all he likes, but he had an opportunity to do something "extraordinary" - and he blinked.