Senate Democrats Wednesday voted to elevate Sen. Chuck Schumer to the role of minority leader, putting him in position to manage a caucus frustrated by November election losses and eager to move the party to the left.
Schumer, of New York, succeeds Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., who is retiring after more than a decade leading Senate Democrats.
Schumer will take leadership of a party that had expected to be in the majority in January under a Democratic president. But Trump exceeded expectations and defeated Hillary Clinton, and Democrats will embark on a new Congress with a minority in the Senate.
Schumer has reached out to liberal Sens. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., in an effort to unify Senate Democrats. Schumer, 65, was elected to his fourth Senate term last week.
The liberal wing of the party has criticized his Wall Street ties and this week demonstrators sat outside his office, and demanded that Sanders, who ran against Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, succeed Reid.
Democrats also voted to expand their leadership team from 7 lawmakers to 10 lawmakers. In a nod to the progressive wing, Sanders was elected to join the leadership team, along with Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin.
