Senate Democrats on Tuesday re-elected Chuck Schumer as their leader in the Upper House, as the party enters a period of deep uncertainty, with no real consensus on a strategy, and President-elect Donald Trump prepares to take office. the charge.
Schumer faced no opposition in the party’s election, in which Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin was also re-elected to the No. 2 seat and Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar became the new No. 3.
In a statement, Schumer, of New York, said he was honored to lead the party “during this crucial period for our country.”
“Our priority is to achieve bipartisan solutions whenever possible and look for ways to collaborate with our Republican colleagues to help working families,” Schumer said. “However, our Republican colleagues must make no mistake, we will always defend our values.”
Although Schumer remains popular among his colleagues, this is a somber moment for Senate Democrats, who had hoped to maintain their majority for a third straight election. Instead, they lost four seats and will have a 53-47 minority as Trump takes office and pressures the Senate to quickly confirm his Cabinet nominees.
Unlike eight years ago, when opposition to Trump’s narrow election victory fueled enthusiasm in his party, Democratic lawmakers and many of their voters are exhausted and searching for answers.
Democrats have so far remained relatively silent on Trump’s nominees and his plans for office, in stark contrast to strong opposition to the mogul when he was elected eight years ago.
Schumer has declined to comment on the details of any nominee, instead allowing the Republican backlash to dominate the conversation.
On Monday, Schumer wrote a public letter to South Dakota Sen. John Thune, the next Republican majority leader, asking him to resist pressure from Trump to allow him to name some of his nominees without a Senate vote and insist on subjecting all nominees to full FBI checks. But he hasn’t said much else about Trump’s upcoming presidency.
While some have been more aggressive — Washington Sen. Patty Murray, chairwoman of the Senate Health, Labor, Education and Pensions Committee, said the nomination of Robert Kennedy Jr. to head the Department of Health and Human Services is “ dangerous” and “nothing short of a disaster”—several Democratic senators say they are saving their strength and creating a focus.
“Everyone is in kind of a standby mode right now,” said Nevada Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, who is part of Schumer’s leadership team. “In the previous Trump administration, there was chaos all the time, all the time. And I think it’s important to choose your battles.”
It is still unclear which battles they will choose. And Democrats have different opinions on how to fight them.
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