The restaurant erupted in cheers as the news flashed on the TV screen and a group celebrating a birthday sent him a slice of cake. But Schumer didn’t stay to celebrate. Soon he was rushing back into town for an impromptu, late-night press conference in the lobby of a building near his office. “I’m going to be majority leader again,” he declared to the cameras, almost giddy. The 2022 elections It was vindication for the oft-underrated Schumer, who scored a string of surprise legislative victories this year as he captured a slim 50-50 Democratic majority, with Vice President Kamala Harris tied. But the midterms had the biggest surprise of all, with his party successfully defending the seats despite historic trends and President Joe Biden’s low approval ratings. The result: two more years of close Senate scrutiny. Even a narrow majority has huge implications for Biden and his party as the Senate confirms nominees and executive branch judges, including to the Supreme Court if there are vacancies in the next two years. Democrats will be able to decide which bills go to the Senate as Republicans – who will likely control the House – take a political swipe at the president ahead of the 2024 election. “Listen, I’ve been on top of every single one of these campaigns,” Schumer said in an interview in his Capitol office Monday, a fire roaring behind him and his glee still evident. He said he believes Democrats won because they had better candidates and because of their legislative accomplishments — allowing the administration to negotiate some prescription drug costs, investments to fight climate change and a bipartisan effort to limit who can own guns, among other measures where they spent the summer. “That was always my plan,” Schumer said. “Get things done and focus on them and don’t get distracted.” Finally, he said, voters rejected the anti-democratic efforts of Republicans who supported former President Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn the last election. “We were on the precipice of totalitarianism eating away at our democracy,” said Schumer, who noted that the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol riot brought new attention to the attack over the summer, with multiple hearings and images of Trump supporters to be beaten. the police get heavy air time. “American voters said, ‘I don’t like this. I will reject it.’ And the American people saved us.” In his own election post-mortem on Monday, Republican leader Mitch McConnell saw it differently, describing the Democrats’ narrow Senate victory and unknown control of the House as confirmation of a “closely divided nation.” Making the case directly to voters in Georgia, who will decide a senatorial runoff in December between Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock and Republican nominee Herschel Walker, McConnell claimed that Democratic policy failures have led to high inflation. If Warnock wins, the Democrats will have a 51-49 majority. And Schumer will have protected every one of his incumbents in the election — an amazing feat. Elected to represent New York in the House in 1980 and then the Senate in 1998, Schumer was known for his political acumen — he was responsible for Democratic Senate victories in 2006 and 2008 — and as a master communicator. But to his colleagues, the midterm election results confirm his abilities as a legislative leader as well. While it has been criticized by Republicans and some progressive groups for abandoning some items on the Democrats’ wish list, the party has had accomplishments to point to in the election, and lawmakers say that gave them new momentum over the summer. “This is the year of Chuck Schumer,” said Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., who has spearheaded bipartisan negotiations on gun legislation. The electoral victories “were created by a bunch of wins that ended up motivating both swing and core voters,” Murphy said, particularly the sweeping health, climate and economic package that Democrats passed after Schumer negotiated alone with moderate Democrat Joe. Manchi n of West Virginia, who had single-handedly killed an earlier version of the legislation. Murphy said Schumer’s style is “completely unique and well-suited to a 50-50 Senate,” knowing when to micromanage and when to relax. Murphy said he spoke with Schumer several times a day while negotiating the gun bill, but still let Murphy take the lead. As for the bipartisan negotiations, “the leaders have to be confident enough to let it play out,” said Virginia Sen. Mark Warner, a Democrat who has been involved in those talks. At the same time, Warner said, “anyone who underestimates Chuck’s focus and attention to detail does so at their peril.” Schumer brags about his communication skills, noting that he has every Democratic senator on speed dial on his famous cell phone. And he knows many of their numbers by heart, he said. “Every member calls me,” he said. “They don’t go through the staff. They can talk to me directly, without email.” Brian Fallon, a former Schumer aide who is now executive director of Demand Justice, a liberal advocacy group that supports expanding the court, said Schumer has “come into his own over the last couple of years” in terms of legislative maneuvering . At no time was that more evident than this summer, Fallon said, when Schumer unexpectedly announced an agreement with Manchin on the sweeping package of bills and took angry Republicans by surprise. “He’s had his own Harry Reid moment over the last few months,” Fallon said, referring to the late Nevada senator and majority leader, who was known as one of the Senate’s toughest negotiators before passing the torch to Schumer. Reed died last year. The next two years will not be easy, even if Warnock wins and gives the Democrats a crucial extra seat. Several Democratic incumbents are running for re-election in 2024, and Republicans still have a good chance of winning a majority in the House, making negotiations tougher for Schumer. “So where do we go from here?” Schumer asked. The Democratic leader said he plans to sit down with McConnell and try to find areas of agreement, even though the two men have traditionally had a frosty relationship. “I’m going to make a real effort to do as much as we can,” Schumer said, repeating what he’s said since taking the top job two years ago. “We have to focus on getting things done. That means we will have to compromise.”
