“We have to understand the things we did wrong and we must change,” Schumer said, speaking on the Senate floor for the first time since the election. “We have to look at what we didn’t do but should have done.”
“We’ll have these important and necessary conversations in due course, and everyone must have a seat at the table,” he added. “We must be honest, we must be practical, and we must never abandon the roots that have defined the Democratic Party for generations.”
The New York Democrat did not mention Republicans had flipped Sen. Bob Casey’s (D-PA) Pennsylvania Senate seat, which the Associated Press called last Thursday, but Casey so far has refused to concede the race until all the votes are counted.
Three of Republicans’ wins were in solidly red states of Montana, Ohio and West Virginia. But Schumer also acknowledged Democrats’ wins in Michigan, Wisconsin, Nevada, and Arizona – states that also voted for Trump.
Sen. Schumer alongside Democratic Senators-elect. There will be six new Senators next Congress. Left: Andy Kim, Ruben Gallego, Angela Alsobrooks, Adam Schiff, Lisa Blunt Rochester and Elissa Slotkin: pic.twitter.com/tpNVvtNcz6
— Samantha-Jo Roth (@SamanthaJoRoth) November 12, 2024
“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.”
“Donald Trump won all those states, but so did our Democratic colleagues and colleagues-to-be,” he added.
Schumer went on to send a message to the new Republican Senate majority, asking them not to abandon “the need for bipartisanship.”
“To my Republican colleagues, I offer a word of caution in good faith, take care not to misread the will of the people, and do not abandon the need for bipartisanship after winning an election,” Schumer said. “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.”
Both Republican and Democratic senators-elect were on Capitol Hill on Tuesday to begin their freshman orientation. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) took to the Senate floor to celebrate the GOP’s gains in all three branches of government.
McConnell takes a victory lap standing alongside new senators-elect. pic.twitter.com/GOxb6JQipQ
— Samantha-Jo Roth (@SamanthaJoRoth) November 12, 2024
“Washington Democrats appear to recognize that they’re on the losing side of a legitimate, crystal-clear mandate,” McConnell said. “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.”
McConnell laid out an aggressive to-do list that lawmakers must accomplish during the lame-duck period. Lawmakers must still reconcile topline funding for the 2025 National Defense Authorization Act. The House bill would authorize $883.7 billion, adhering to the caps laid out in the 2023 debt limit deal but the Senate Armed Services Committee would authorize $25 billion more.
“Every year the NDAA gives Congress an indispensable opportunity to set national security priorities. 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,” he said.
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The Kentucky Republican also listed supplemental disaster aid spending and averting a shutdown in December as part of his priorities before the next Congress.
“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.”