Senate Democrats reelected Chuck Schumer as party leader on Tuesday as the party moves into a deeply uncertain time, with no real consensus on a strategy as President-elect Donald Trump prepares to take office.
Schumer faced no opposition in the party leadership elections, in which Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin was also reelected to the No. 2 spot and Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar became the new No. 3. In a statement, Schumer, of New York, said he was honored to move the party forward “during this crucial period for our country.”
“Our preference is to secure bipartisan solutions wherever possible and look for ways to collaborate with our Republican colleagues to help working families,” Schumer said. “However, our Republican colleagues should make no mistake about it, we will always stand up for our values.”
While Schumer remains popular with his colleagues, it is a bleak moment for Senate Democrats, who had been hopeful that they could hold the majority for the third election in a row. Instead they lost four seats and will be in the minority, 53-47, 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 win fueled enthusiasm in their party, Democratic lawmakers and many of their voters are exhausted and looking for answers.
So far, Democrats have stayed relatively quiet on Trump’s nominees and plans for office – a stark contrast from the loud opposition to Trump when he was elected eight years ago. Schumer has declined to comment on specifics of any nominees, instead allowing Republican reaction to dominate the conversation.
On Monday, Schumer wrote a public letter to South Dakota Sen. John Thune, the incoming Republican majority leader, asking him to resist Trump’s pressure to allow him to appoint some of his nominees without a Senate vote and to insist on full FBI background checks for all nominees. But he has said little 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 that Trump’s nomination of Robert Kennedy Jr. to lead the Health and Human Services Department is “dangerous” and “nothing short of disaster” — several Democratic senators say they are saving their strength and figuring out a focus.
“Everybody’s in kind of in a wait-and-see mode right now,” said Nevada Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, who is part of Schumer’s leadership team. “Under the previous Trump administration, there was chaos all the time, all the time. And I do think it is important to pick your battles.”
It’s still unclear which battles they will pick. And Democrats have differing opinions on how to fight them.
Hawaii Sen. Brian Schatz, who is also in Democratic leadership, says that “anyone who has a grand strategy is full of crap,” but thinks that Democrats, for now, “need to keep things simple.”
“We need to talk about people, protect people, advocate for people,” Schatz said. “Do not talk about protecting institutions. Do not talk about advocating for institutions. It’s a not just a rhetorical shift, but an attitudinal shift. We have to remind ourselves, that we’re not fighting for programs and projects and line items and agencies or norms. We’re fighting for people.”
Virginia Sen. Mark Warner said that he’s spent a lot of time reflecting, and “I don’t think anyone can claim this was a policy election,” and Democrats need to look at cultural issues. Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman says Democrats just need to “pace ourselves” and avoid the “massive freakout” of Trump's last term.
Democrats should be preparing, says Connecticut Sen. Richard Blumenthal. He says Schumer is picking his battles “very thoughtfully and strategically.”
“We’re thinking about how we protect against using the FBI, or the prosecutorial authority of the Justice Department for retribution against critics,” said Blumenthal. “How we elevate these issues in a way that American people understand them.”
Democrats know better now, after eight years, “the extraordinary challenges we’re going to face,” Blumenthal said.
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21 Comments
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jib
Schumer was besties with Trump until Trump became a Republican.
Underworld
jib
More like: until Trump became a politician. Trump doesn’t have the experience or knowledge, so expect another chaotic presidency.
TaiwanIsNotChina
You mean before Trump became a national security threat.
TaiwanIsNotChina
Makes sense as Schumer has done well over the years. The strategy is to fight from day one and be ready with the fire extinguishers should we make it to 2028 as a democracy.
TaiwanIsNotChina
Actual swing state senators say otherwise.
bass4funk
For the Democrat establishment, that’s very true
Dems probably won’t make it since they’re still in shock and wondering how it was possible for them to lose, if they don’t know why there’s no hope for them going forward particularly if they continue with their crap same progressive failed policies.
That doesn’t translate to the rest of the country.
dagon
I beg to differ sir.
Schumer, Pelosi and the other neolib Dems are the ones who embraced Wall Street and abandoned workers and why they chose a billionaire kleptocrat and his merry band of oligarchs instead.
Daisaku
The Democratic Party will need to conduct a deep soul search over the coming two years, leading up to the mid-terms. What went wrong with the elections, and what changes are needed?
TaiwanIsNotChina
People thought Failed Businessman would make everything half price again. That's it, really.
Blacklabel
Half price again?
so finally an admission that ty things doubled under the last 4 years regime?
I would be happy to go back to the Trump pre COVID prices with a reasonable cost of living matching increase.
funny how the left tries to call a multibillionaire businessman “failed” instead of holding their own team accountable for price increases.
Randy Johnson
DaisakuToday 08:03 am JST
The Democratic Party will need to conduct a deep soul search over the coming two years, leading up to the mid-terms. What went wrong with the elections, and what changes are needed?
Disagree. The Democrats need to change nothing. They must keep the course.
stormcrow
The craziness is about to begin again.
TaiwanIsNotChina
Yes, they were half price in the 90s probably.
Not doubled, but the low information voter will believe anything.
So would everybody but you have selected someone who couldn't make a casino profitable to make it happen.
HopeSpringsEternal
CS is as corrupt as they come, and he and Trump go way back, so it makes sense in some sense, both from NYC etc. Zero charisma is CS's problem, nobody likes him, terrible interviewer, no explanation for his huge wealth given a lifetime in politics etc. Definition of corrupt DC = CS.
Blacklabel
Yep with at least 25% increase happening in just the last 4 years.
maybe Schumer can focus on the American people for once.
Or maybe Kamala can do some of that stuff NOW that she was supposedly gonna do when she “got in office on Day 1”
TaiwanIsNotChina
Schumer only has to win an election in NY and among the slightly better educated Democratic caucus.
TaiwanIsNotChina
You'll have a long time to learn this but might as well begin today. This is the sole power MAGAs will have on January 20th:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reconciliation_(United_States_Congress)
Blacklabel
More power than your team has. only power you have is whining, crying and maybe some temporary minor obstructions.
Let that sink in.
Raw Beer
Yeah, until Trump stopped giving money to the Dems.
Schumer was right when he said: “Let me tell you, you take on the intelligence community, they have six ways from Sunday at getting back at you”
TaiwanIsNotChina
You survived four years in the wilderness and so will we. The difference is your side is headed for some things that will actually damage the MAGA party for years to come. And the senate filibuster is not a minor obstruction but a total end to all proposed legislation and budgets short of reconciliation. No departments will be burned down on Schumer's watch.
Peter14
They need to put a convicted criminal, compulsive liar and someone that can quickly have a hundred pending court cases for varying crimes up front. Seems thats what many voters want in a serving American president. Someone that simply cant be trusted.