Democrats in US Senate choose Schumer new leader; no change for Republicans

Schumer, D-N.Y., will succeed retiring Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada, when the new Congress convenes next year.

Three years after using the “nuclear option” to upend Senate tradition by effectively removing filibusters against most presidential nominations, Senate Democrats insisted Thursday they don’t regret that decision, even as Donald Trump becomes president and they recognize they may be powerless to block controversial nominations.

After Schumer was voted the senate minority leader on Wednesday, he told reporters that he plans to work with Trump when possible. “We will go toe-to-toe against the president-elect whenever our values or the progress we’ve made is under assault”, Schumer said at a press conference.

Separately, Republicans voted Wednesday to keep Mitch McConnell as Senate GOP leader. Sen.

So did several political analysts who predicted that Democrats would win enough Senate seats on election night to reclaim the majority they lost in 2014.

One key party post remains unfilled: chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, who will be tasked with electing Senate Democrats in 2018 – a year when they will be defending 25 seats and will have scant pickup opportunities among eight GOP-held seats.

Schumer, 65, has been No. 3 Democratic leader and vaulted over No. 2 leader Dick Durbin of IL, who will remain in that slot. That paid dividends when Trump was elected president.

Just last month at the Al Smith dinner in New York, Trump jokingly made the remark that Schumer “used to love me when I was a Democrat”.

Aiding Ryan is support from Trump and Vice President-elect Mike Pence, which Ryan and others underscored to Republican lawmakers before they voted.

Sanders reiterated his support for Schumer, whose ties to New York’s financial industry have drawn scrutiny from progressives who worry he’ll be too aligned with Wall Street and corporate interests. There is no bitterness among Senate Democrats left over from the presidential primary.

In the new post, she’ll help Schumer shape the party’s agenda and strategy.

The competing political forces were evident in Schumer’s selection of a leadership slate that reflects competing strains within the party, from Sens. “The person to put that question to is Senator Schumer”, Sanders said on a conference call with reporters.

When trump and Ted Cruz were sparring over NY values in the GOP primary, Schumer sided with trump.

Senate Democrats are turning to Sen. “That’s exactly what we’re thinking about right now”, said Sanders, the featured guest at a breakfast hosted by The Christian Science Monitor.

Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minnesota, said expanding the ranks of Democratic leadership to span the ideology of the party from Sanders to the more conservative Manchin was important to rebuilding the party and its message.