Schumer took a beating on election night. But he’s ready to rest the blame on an unexpected place.
And Chuck Schumer has made a stunning admission that has fellow Democrats at his throat.
In the wake of recent elections, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) has addressed the Democratic Party’s need for reflection and reform after suffering major losses. Republicans flipped four Senate seats, securing a 53-seat majority, a significant shift that Schumer acknowledged by calling for a critical autopsy of the election to uncover “the things we did wrong.”
Schumer, addressing the Senate for the first time since the election results, was candid: “We have to understand the things we did wrong and we must change. We have to look at what we didn’t do but should have done.”
He urged his colleagues to engage in “important and necessary conversations” that would involve every perspective within the party. “We must be honest, we must be practical, and we must never abandon the roots that have defined the Democratic Party for generations,” he added.
Schumer did not specifically reference the loss of Sen. Bob Casey’s (D-PA) seat in Pennsylvania, which was called by the Associated Press last Thursday. Casey has yet to concede, waiting for all votes to be counted.
Three of the Republicans’ victories came in stronghold red states—Montana, Ohio, and West Virginia. But Schumer also noted Democratic wins in key battleground states: Michigan, Wisconsin, Nevada, and Arizona, all of which had gone to Donald Trump this election cycle.
“Despite a difficult year for Democrats, four of our most contested seats will remain in the hands of Democrats,” Schumer said. “Four of the most contested seats will remain in Democratic hands, Nevada, Michigan, Arizona, and Wisconsin, and as I said, in one more state, the votes are still being counted.”
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With these Democratic victories in states that Trump also won, Schumer sees a broader message about bipartisanship and the importance of reading the electorate accurately. In his address to the new Republican majority, he warned against interpreting their win as a green light for extreme partisanship.
“To my Republican colleagues, I offer a word of caution in good faith,” he said. “Take care not to misread the will of the people, and do not abandon the need for bipartisanship after winning an election. The temptation may be to go to the extremes. We’ve seen that happen over the decades, and it’s consistently backfired on the party in power.”
As the newly elected senators began their orientation, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) took the floor to celebrate the GOP’s significant gains across all three branches of government.
“Washington Democrats appear to recognize that they’re on the losing side of a legitimate, crystal-clear mandate,” McConnell stated. “I hope they’ll work with the new Senate Republican majority as we begin to clean up the messes left over the last four years.”
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McConnell outlined an ambitious agenda for the upcoming lame-duck session, emphasizing the need to finalize key legislation, including the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). The House’s version of the NDAA proposes $883.7 billion in funding, consistent with 2023’s debt limit deal, while the Senate Armed Services Committee has proposed an additional $25 billion.
“Every year the NDAA gives Congress an indispensable opportunity to set national security priorities,” McConnell noted. “This year, it’s a chance to show we appreciate the gravity of an especially dangerous moment. After months of needless dithering, I would urge the Democratic leader to get this must-pass legislation moved without further delay.”
Additionally, McConnell emphasized priorities like passing supplemental disaster aid and ensuring that the government doesn’t face a shutdown in December.
“As I’ve said before, there is never political advantage to be gained from allowing core government functions to go dark,” he said. “The 119th Congress and the 47th president must not inherit a federal government in the middle of a funding crisis.”
Both leaders appear committed to pushing their parties forward, but each faces unique challenges in navigating this period of divided governance and shifting priorities in this post-election time.
And at least Chuck Schumer is willing to look at the things his party did wrong in losing the 2024 elections. Many of his fellow Democrats however, are still using the same playbook of blaming American voters for alleged “s*xism” and “racism” for why they lost so big this past election cycle.
Stay tuned to The Federalist Wire.
