Posted December 10, 2024 | by KimS | in 2024 Election, DemDaily, Democratic Party, Senate

DemDaily: US Senate: The New Leadership

December 10, 2024

Senate members of the 119th Congress have selected the leaders that will guide them through the new 53-47 Republican majority in the first two years under the reign of Donald Trump.

The New Senate Democratic Leadership
In a private meeting December 3, Senate Democrats unanimously elected their leadership slate, led by Senator Chuck Schumer (NY) as Minority Leader and Chair of the Conference.

Elected to a fifth Senate term in 2022, Schumer, 74, has served as Democratic Leader since 2017, and in January 2021, became the first Jewish Senate Majority Leader.

The 119th Congress: The partisan breakdown of the incoming US Senate stands at 53 Republicans to 47 Democrats. Republicans flipped four Senate seats in the 2024 elections -- in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Montana and West Virginia -- to take control of the Senate.

The 119th Congress: The partisan breakdown of the incoming US Senate stands at 53 Republicans to 47 Democrats. Republicans flipped four Senate seats in the 2024 elections -- in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Montana and West Virginia -- to take control of the Senate.

Democratic Whip: Senator Dick Durbin (IL), 80. First elected in 1996, Durbin has served in the number two position, Senate Democratic Whip, since 2005 and as the Senate Majority Whip since 2021. He also chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee,

Chair of Steering and Policy Committee: Senator Amy Klobuchar, 64, succeeds retiring Senator Debbie Stabenow (MI) in the number three slot as chair of the Steering and Policy Committee.

The former 2020 presidential candidate and four-term Minnesota Democratic–Farmer-Labor Party (DFL) Senator also chairs the Senate Rules Committee.

Chair of Strategic Communications Committee: Senator Cory Booker, 55. The New Jersey Senator also moves up a rank, succeeding Klobuchar in the No. 4 spot. The former 2020 presidential candidate, first elected to the Senate in a 2013 special election, sits on the Foreign Relations Committee and chairs the Subcommittee on Africa and Global Health Policy.

Rounding out the leadership team:
Vice Chair of the Conference: Senator Elizabeth Warren (MA)
Vice Chair of the Conference: Senator Mark Warner (VA)
Chair of Outreach: Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT)
Senate Democratic Conference Secretary: Senator Tammy Baldwin (WI)
Vice Chair of Outreach: Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (NV)
Deputy Democratic Conference Secretary: Senator Brian Schatz (HI)
Deputy Democratic Conference Secretary: Senator Chris Murphy (CT)

The chair of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC), the Senate's campaign arm, has not been publicly announced but is expected to be Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (NY).

"Our preference is to secure bipartisan solutions wherever possible...However, our Republican colleagues should make no mistake about it, we will always stand up for our values. We have a lot of work ahead – in the Senate and as a country – and in this upcoming Congress, our caucus will continue to fight for what’s best for America’s working class. Senate Democrats are ready to get to work for you, the American people.” - Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer

"Our preference is to secure bipartisan solutions wherever possible...However, our Republican colleagues should make no mistake about it, we will always stand up for our values. We have a lot of work ahead – in the Senate and as a country – and in this upcoming Congress, our caucus will continue to fight for what’s best for America’s working class. Senate Democrats are ready to get to work for you, the American people.” - Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer

The New Senate Republican Leadership
Senate Republicans held their leadership elections three weeks earlier, electing South Dakota’s John Thune as the next Majority Leader. He will take over for Minority Leader Mitch McConnell — the longest-serving leader in Senate history -- who is stepping down from the post at the beginning of next year.

In the closed-door November 13 meeting, Thune, currently Minority Whip, won 29 votes on the second round of voting, defeating former Whip John Cornyn (TX), who received 24. Senator Rick Scott (FL) was eliminated following the first round after receiving the least votes.

The rest of the GOP leadership slate
Majority Whip: Senator John Barrasso (WY)
Conference Chair: Senator Tom Cotton (AR)
Conference Vice Chair: James Lankord (OK)
Policy Committee Chair: Senator Shelley Moore Capito (WV)
National Republican Senatorial Committee Chair (NRSC): Senator Tim Scott (SC)

DemList will keep you informed.

Related
DemDaily: Trump Administration: The Advisory 12/6/24
DemDaily: Update on The Cabinet Contenders 12/5/24
DemDaily: Pardon Politics 12/4/24
DemDaily: House Democrats Look to New Leadership 12/2/24
DemDaily: In The Last Words of RFK 11/25/24
DemDaily: Gaetz's Ignoble Exit 11/22/244
DemDaily: The Next Voice of The Democratic Party 11/20/24
DemDaily: Trump's Cabinet: The Contenders 11/19/24