Mitch McConnell, Charles Schumer elected to Senate leadership

The Kentucky senator first became Majority Leader when Republicans took control of the Senate in the 2014 elections.

The New Yorker’s ascension from his No. 3 spot has been a virtual lock since a year ago, when he quickly cemented votes for the top job after current Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., announced he’d retire.

Pelosi, who may face a challenger, agreed this week to delay leadership elections until November 30 after her fellow Democrats called for more time to reassess why they fell short of their goals in the November 8 election.

Trump and Schumer – both flamboyant, media savvy, outspoken, deal-making larger-than-life NY personalities have history.

Get free real-time news alerts from the Seattle Patch. Harry Reid, who is retiring. In 2013, he worked with Vice President Joe Biden to raise taxes on the rich. “When you lose an election like this, you can’t flinch, you can’t ignore it”. That move paid dividends when Trump was elected. Most Senate legislation will require a 60-vote threshold in the 100 member chamber in order to overcome opposition, but Republicans will only have a maximum of 52 seats from January.

In addition to Schumer’s election, Democrats re-elected Sen.

Schumer the politician is known as a schmoozer, who is willing to engage the other side but to also fight tenaciously. Schumer said that unlike Republicans in 2009 who chose to oppose Obama’s agenda at every turn, he will not take that route.

“He has a belief that politics is a rough sport but it can be played fairly and cleanly”.

“He’s just a fresher face, and that might help him negotiate with Republicans”. He has implored Democrats to be vigilant against attempts to “normalize” Trump’s behavior.

Still, if common ground does emerge in the new Washington, Schumer is likely to explore it.

The vote came Wednesday morning, when Republicans decided on their leadership team with little drama, looking forward towards a GOP-controlled congress and Republican presidency. Baldwin is 54 years old, making her relatively young compared to the rest of the Senate, and represents a Midwestern swing state that Democrats must win in order to remain competitive. The Senate has a duty to act as a check and balance on the executive even when they are of the same party. Chuck Schumer, meaning the New Yorker will be Washington’s most powerful Democrat as the party confronts a Republican-dominated government.

“When we can agree on issues, then we’re going to work with him”, Schumer said.

During McConnell’s speech Tuesday on the floor of the Senate, he said of the presidential election: “As President Obama reminded us, ‘[We’re] all on one team”.

Schumer has mentioned infrastructure as an area of possible cooperation.

In April 2011, Trump went on Sean Hannity’s Fox News show to talk about his donations to Democrats when he was considering a run for the Oval Office five years ago, Politico reported.

“It is with both humility and confidence that I write to request your support for House Democratic leader”.

Senate Democrats formally voted for Sen.

Schumer and Sanders are backing the candidacy of Rep. Keith Ellison of Minnesota, a Muslim lawmaker, to be the next chairman of the DNC. He added that Democrats will pursue a “bigger, bolder, sharper-edged economic message” in the future.