Sen. Bernie Sanders suggested during a radio interview on Thursday that Rep. Keith Ellison, a Minnesota Democrat who was the first Muslim to be elected to Congress, could become the next chairman of the Democratic National Committee.
Sanders’ support for Ellison comes as the current DNC chair, Donna Brazile, faces an intense backlash over her failure to prevent an electoral debacle for Democrats this week in races for the House, Senate and presidency.
Brazile had already come under fire following the discovery that she fed debate questions to Hillary Clinton’s campaign during the Democratic primary. Her predecessor, Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, was ousted in July when WikiLeaks exposed her own attempts to aid Clinton in her battle against Sanders.
Brazile’s interim term as DNC chair will end in March 2017, at which point she will have the opportunity to seek a permanent seat at the helm of her party.
However, Brazile may face opposition given her role in propping up a nominee that lost what Democrats viewed as a winnable contest with Donald Trump.
The acting DNC leader faced heckling from her own staff Thursday in the committee’s first meeting since Trump defeated Clinton, according to the Huffington Post.
Ellison is reportedly weighing a bid for the DNC’s top job, a position that could take on increased significance now that Democrats have lost control of all three branches of government.
His selection as the next party leader could appease progressives who felt burned by the way DNC officials treated Sanders during the primary. Ellison was among the first elected officials to endorse Sanders over Clinton.
The Minnesota Democrat also correctly predicted in July 2015 that Trump posed a legitimate threat to the Democrats’ chances of winning the GOP nomination and, ultimately, the White House. At the time, he was laughed at and dismissed.
“Anybody from the Democratic side of the fence who’s terrified of the possibility of a President Trump better vote, better get active, better get involved, because this man has got some momentum,” Ellison said during an appearance on ABC’s “This Week” last summer. “We’d better be ready for the fact that he might be leading the Republican ticket.”
George Stephanopoulos, a former Clinton aide and host of the program, joined the other panelists in laughing off Ellison’s warning.
“I know you don’t believe that,” Stephanopoulos said.
Former DNC Chairman and Vermont Gov. Howard Dean announced Thursday on Twitter that he will run for another term as head of the Democratic organization.
