Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) reminded Mitch McConnell (R-KY) on Monday that he lost the Senate and no longer gets to hold the chamber hostage.
During an interview with MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow, Sen. Schumer said, “He is not the Majority Leader, he is the Minority Leader, and he is not going to get his way.”
Video:
“He is not the Majority Leader, he is the Minority Leader, and he is not going to get his way,” Chuck Schumer tells #maddow as Mitch McConnell tries to stand in the way of the Democratic majority. pic.twitter.com/hVERrBNeBp
— PoliticusUSA (@politicususa) January 26, 2021
Sen. Schumer said:
He is not the majority leader. He’s the minority leader. And he is not going to get his way. We are not going to do what he wants and that is universal, Rachel, in my caucus, from the most liberal to the most conservative. We hope in the next day or two, he’ll come to his senses and take our offer. But we are not giving into him. It was outrageous what he did and it really angered my entire caucus. That was not the way to start off.
McConnell is in no position to make demands
Chuck Schumer and Mitch McConnell have been negotiating a Senate power-sharing agreement, but the Kentucky senator is demanding assurances that Democrats will preserve the filibuster.
Democrats were quick to knock down that effort by McConnell, and Schumer’s comments to Maddow show that he isn’t about to be pushed around by the minority leader.
Schumer’s strategy appears to have worked, according to MSNBC’s Kyle Griffin, because McConnell announced late Monday that he is backing down from his filibuster demand and will finally support a rules resolution.
During his time as majority leader, McConnell turned the Senate into a place where good legislation goes to die. He even bragged about being called the “grim reaper.”
Now that Mitch McConnell – with a big assist from Donald Trump – lost control of the U.S. Senate, his days of making demands and holding the chamber hostage are over.
With Joe Biden in the White House waiting for Congress to move quickly on his agenda, Democrats appear ready to do whatever it takes to make sure they deliver.
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Sean Colarossi currently resides in Cleveland, Ohio. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from the University of Massachusetts Amherst and was an organizing fellow for both of President Obama’s presidential campaigns. He also worked with Planned Parenthood as an Affordable Care Act Outreach Organizer in 2014, helping northeast Ohio residents obtain health insurance coverage.
