Tag: Sen. Schumer

Chuck Schumer is now majority leader as 3 new Democratic senators are sworn in

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Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) is officially Senate majority leader after the inauguration of Vice President Kamala Harris and the swearing-in of new Sens. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Jon Ossoff (D-Ga.) and Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.).

Why it matters: With a 50-50 Senate, Schumer will control a narrow majority with Harris as the tie-breaking vote. Democratic control of the Senate is crucial to President Biden’s agenda, from getting his coronavirus relief proposal passed to forgiving student debt. 

The big picture: After more than 20 years in the Senate, Schumer will be taking the position from Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), who became majority leader in 2015. Continue reading.

Schumer calls for 25th Amendment to be invoked after Capitol riots

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Senate Democratic Leader Charles Schumer (N.Y.) on Thursday called for President Trump to be removed from office through the 25th Amendment after a pro-Trump mob stormed the Capitol the day before. 

“What happened at the U.S. Capitol yesterday was an insurrection against the United States, incited by the president. This president should not hold office one day longer,” Schumer said in a statement. 

“The quickest and most effective way — it can be done today — to remove this president from office would be for the Vice President to immediately invoke the 25th amendment. If the Vice President and the Cabinet refuse to stand up, Congress should reconvene to impeach the president,” he added.  Continue reading.

McConnell, Schumer spar as pressure grows for coronavirus deal

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Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) sparred over coronavirus relief on Thursday as pressure grows for leadership to cut a deal.  

McConnell, speaking from the Senate floor, said he believed a deal on coronavirus relief was “within reach,” but didn’t embrace a bipartisan proposal gaining steam within his own caucus.  

McConnell argued Congress should pass a coronavirus relief bill that covers areas on which both sides agree, including more small business aid through the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and extending soon-to-expire programs created through the March CARES Act.  Continue reading.

McConnell, Schumer to remain Senate leaders

Leadership elections were held even though the Senate majority has not been decided

Corrected, 2:23 p.m. | Republican Mitch McConnell of Kentucky and Democrat Charles E. Schumer of New York were reelected Tuesday to lead their parties in the Senate during the next Congress.

The leadership elections, which occurred behind closed doors Tuesday morning, were held even though it’s still unclear which party will hold the Senate majority. 

Races called in last week’s election have the chamber currently deadlocked at 48-48, and control could depend on a double runoff in Georgia for seats held by GOP Sens. Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue. Republican incumbents Dan Sullivan of Alaska and Thom Tillis of North Carolina are leading in the two other uncalled races. Continue reading.

Postal Service blocked lawmakers from key evidence on DeJoy’s selection, Schumer says

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The Senate’s top Democrat says he has new evidence that Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin intervened in the postmaster general appointment process.

The U.S. Postal Service blocked congressional lawmakers from interrogating the firm that helped select Louis DeJoy as the nation’s postmaster general, prompting a sharp rebuke from Senate Democratic Leader Charles E. Schumer, who called on the organization Wednesday to be more transparent as a federal investigation unfolds.

The spat over access has hindered lawmakers as they investigate DeJoy’s recent, controversial changes to mail delivery and, in the process, potentially concealed key details about the involvement of President Trump and his top aides in those decisions, Schumer (N.Y.) warned in a letter to the agency. The missive threatens to add to the already sky-high tensions between the administration and the Senate as DeJoy prepares to testify at a Senate hearing Friday, then a House hearing on Monday.

Schumer fired off his initial inquiry to the USPS in June, asking to learn more about the process that selected DeJoy, a former top Republican fundraiser, to lead the Postal Service. The postmaster general is a position filled by the USPS Board of Governors, which in this case relied on an executive search firm, Russell Reynolds Associates, to guide its thinking. Continue reading.

Pelosi, Schumer say White House declined $2T coronavirus deal

The Hill logoDemocratic leaders said Friday that the White House rejected an offer for a roughly $2 trillion coronavirus relief package.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said that as part of a closed-door Thursday meeting, Democrats offered to reduce their $3.4 trillion price tag by $1 trillion if Republicans would agree to raise their roughly $1 trillion package by the same amount.

That strategy, effectively trying to split the difference between the two sides, would result in legislation costing between $2 trillion and $2.4 trillion. Continue reading.

Economic relief talks to ramp up Monday as Democrats, White House agree to sit down

Washington Post logoPelosi and Schumer will meet with Mnuchin and Meadows as they face the expiration of jobless aid within days

Top Democrats and the White House plan to meet Monday evening as they rush to begin negotiations over an economic relief bill aimed at addressing fallout from the coronaviruspandemic, bumping up against a tight deadline before expanded jobless aid expires later this week.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) plan to meet at 6 p.m. with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows to begin formal talks. Negotiations were delayed because Democrats were waiting for the White House and Senate Republicans to unify behind a single plan, something that was expected to be released on Monday afternoon.

The White House and Senate Republican plan is expected to call for around $1 trillion in new spending, while the House Democrats have coalesced around a $3 trillion plan they passed in May. Pelosi earlier on Monday criticized Republicans for waiting so long to begin negotiations, saying “children are hungry, families cannot pay the rent, unemployment is expiring and the Republicans want to pause again and go piecemeal.” Continue reading.

Schumer calls for hearings on Trump’s ‘abject failure at implementing’ coronavirus relief

The Hill logoSenate Democratic Leader Charles Schumer (N.Y.) on Tuesday blasted the Trump administration for failing to properly implement the four coronavirus relief packages passed by Congress, saying he would call on the Senate to begin oversight hearings next week.

“This administration has been an abject failure at implementing most of these laws,” Schumer said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” on Tuesday, asserting the administration doesn’t have the necessary qualified personnel and focus.

“All too often it seems the president’s ego is at stake,” he added. Continue reading.

Schumer Bill Would Keep Trump’s Name Off Relief Checks

On orders from the U.S. Treasury Department, President Donald Trump’s name is appearing on millions of $1200 relief checks that Americans are receiving as part of the $2.2 trillion package signed into law in March in response to the coronavirus crisis. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer is vehemently opposed to Trump’s name appearing on those checks —and Politico‘s Marianne Levine is reporting that the top Democrat in the U.S. Senate is planning to introduce legislation that would keep the president’s name off future coronavirus relief checks.

Levine reports that Schumer’s proposal, which is being called the No PR Act, “would prohibit the use of federal dollars toward any material that promotes the names or signatures of Trump or Vice President Mike Pence.”

In an official statement, Schumer asserted, “President Trump, unfortunately, appears to see the pandemic as just another opportunity to promote his own political interests. The No PR Act puts an end to the president’s exploitation of taxpayer money for promotional material that only benefits his re-election campaign.” Continue reading.

Aides expect Schumer, Mnuchin to reach deal on coronavirus relief

The Hill logoTreasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Senate Democratic Leader Charles Schumer (N.Y.) are expected to reach a deal this week on an interim coronavirus relief bill that would provide money to businesses, hospitals and state governments.

The deal could lead to legislation being passed quickly through the Senate on Thursday, and through the House no later than early next week.

The House has said it will not return to Washington until at least the week of May 4 given the danger of the coronavirus, which has sent lawmakers in both chambers home. Continue reading.