Schumer sees his new role as ‘awesome responsibility’
After the inauguration of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris and the swearing in of three new Democratic senators, Sen. Charles E. Schumer gave an audible exhale before starting his first speech as Senate majority leader on Wednesday.
“I need to catch my breath, so much is happening,” he said.
While the spotlight was on Biden — and Schumer wanted it that way — the inauguration also marked a pivotal day in his career: The Brooklynite became the first Senate majority leader from New York.
“That I should be the leader of this
new Senate majority is an awesome responsibility — awesome in a biblical sense like the angels that trembled in awe before God,” Schumer, 70, said. “Today, I feel the full weight of that responsibility, the sense of reverence and awe at the trust placed in me.”
Schumer takes the helm of a Senate divided 50-50, with the Democratic majority coming from the tie-breaking vote of Vice President Kamala Harris. The Senate has rarely been split this way. It will require unusual amounts of power-sharing between
Democrats and Republicans at a time of deep national conflict and polarization.
Schumer’s first tasks will include leading the Senate through a second impeachment trial for former President Donald J. Trump, while negotiating legislation and approving Biden’s Cabinet.
“This will be an exceptionally busy and consequential period for the United States Senate,” Schumer said.
Hours before assuming his new title, Schumer was feeling excited but cognizant of the challenge ahead of him, said Carol Kellerman, Schumer’s close friend and chief of staff from 1992. She dined with him Tuesday night.
“As he always is with challenges, I think he is energized by it, but it’s a lot of pressure right now,” Kellerman said.
Becoming majority leader wasn’t a lifelong goal for Schumer, but over the past four years, as he lead Democrats in the minority, it became Schumer’s aspiration to flip the chamber blue again, Kellerman said.
Schumer learned he would become majority leader Jan. 6 when Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock were declared victors in their Georgia runoff U.S. Senate elections. It was the same day that supporters of Trump broke into the U.S. Capitol, forcing lawmakers into lockdown and leading to five deaths.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch Mcconnell, R-KY., congratulated Schumer for the first time on his promotion while the pair were hiding out in a secure location together, as protesters ransacked the building, according to an aide familiar with the conversation.
Mcconnell and Schumer have begun the work of creating a new organizing resolution for the Senate — a key document that will outline the rules in the 50-50 Senate and the powers afforded to each party. They met for 30 minutes Tuesday and discussed “a whole lot of issues,” Schumer said after the meeting. Mcconnell and Schumer are expected to use a template from 2001 — the last time there was a 50-50 Senate — for their agreement.
Schumer will also work with Biden and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D -Calif., to advance a Democratic agenda, passing as a first priority more COVID -19 relief. Schumer and Biden have a close 30-year relationship stemming to when Schumer served in the U.S. House of Representatives and Biden was a senator from Delaware. Schumer attended Mass with Biden and other top congressional leaders Wednesday morning before the inauguration.
Schumer has spent nearly his whole life in politics. After graduating from Harvard Law School, he served in the New York Assembly from 1975 to 1980. He was elected to the House in 1980 and then ascending to the U.S. Senate in 1999. He has led the Senate Democratic caucus since 2017.
Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said Schumer will lead the majority like he did the minority — with a firm, experienced hand.
“He’s talented, he’s tough, he can be a street fighter,” Graham said. “He can put a deal together. I saw him on immigration: He really pushed himself and the party. There’s that side to him. There’s take no prisoners.”