Chuck Schumer

By Nancy Oganovich (Bloomberg Government) -- Democrat Chuck Schumer, who after four decades in Congress became the first Senate majority leader from New York, is responsible for guiding President Joe Biden’s ambitious agenda through an equally divided Senate. Schumer promised aggressive action even though he’ll be operating under a negotiated power sharing agreement between the parties. Democrats clinched control of the chamber with the election of two Georgia Democrats and the tie-breaking vote of Vice President Kamala Harris. “We have to get big bold things done, both to deal with Covid and to deal with the underlying crises in America, such as climate, such as economic and racial inequality, such as making our democracy more perfect,” Schumer said after becoming majority leader. Schumer has been anxious to jump-start legislation that got little traction during Donald Trump’s presidency. He was a leading critic of Trump’s policies, from the early travel ban that affected his Muslim constituents in Brooklyn to tax changes that hit New York homeowners hard. He was critical of Trump’s handling of the coronavirus, which early on cost thousands of New Yorkers’ lives. At other times, Schumer sought unsuccessfully to make deals with Trump, with their shared history in New York, from trying to provide a path to citizenship for young undocumented immigrants to trying to provide a large investment in infrastructure. Schumer now sees better prospects for immigration and infrastructure plans with Biden, whom he knew as a congressional colleague. Schumer said Trump should be held accountable for inciting the rioters at the Capitol on Jan. 6 and defended the Senate’s holding a second impeachment trial of Trump even after he left office. Schumer recalled during the mob attack “within 45 minutes, a police officer in a big flak jacket and a big automatic machine gun across his waist grabs me nicely by the collar, and says “Senator, we got to get out of here, you’re in danger.” But he also said it’s important to move on, arguing voters will be less receptive to divisive attacks if they see results by government. “The antidote is constructive strong action,” Schumer said. Over the years, Schumer has gained a reputation for relishing media attention, with a saying on Capitol Hill that “the most dangerous place in Washington is between Chuck Schumer and a TV camera.” Committee and Legislative History * During his early House service, Schumer served of the House Judiciary Committee and was heavily involved in crime and immigration issues. He was the chief sponsor of the 1993 Brady Law, which required background checks before a person could buy a gun. He also played a key role in a major anti-crime bill that authorized 100,000 new police officers and banned assault weapons. He joined Biden and other lawmakers in writing the 1994 act to prevent and prosecute violence against women. * As a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee he also was chairman of the panel that oversaw immigration matters. He was a member of the bipartisan “Gang of Eight” that developed the framework for comprehensive immigration legislation that the Senate passed in 2013, but the House never took up. * Schumer also served on the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee where he could look out for issues important to his hometown industry. He sometimes was called the “senator from Wall Street” due to his prodigious fundraising from the financial services sector and his defense of the industry. He was a major player in the bailout given the banking industry amid the 2008 fiscal crisis. But he also broke with Wall Street at times, voting for the 2010 Dodd-Frank financial regulation act. * Schumer was in line to be ranking member on the Banking Committee in 2015 but passed up the chance to focus more on leadership responsibilities. He left the panel when he succeeded Democratic Leader Harry Reid. He also gave up a coveted slot on the Finance Committee. He still is a member of the Intelligence and Rules panels. Politics and Personality * Schumer is a staunch defender of Democratic views. His ratings from interest groups tell the tale: Ninety percent-plus from abortion rights groups, AFL-CIO, and League of Conservation Voters; 4% from the Club for Growth; 5% from the American Conservative Union; and grades of “F” from the National Taxpayers Union and the National Rifle Association. * Schumer pays close attention to issues that concern middle- class voters, such as increasing the tax-deductibility threshold for college tuition. In his 2007 book “Positively American: Winning Back the Middle-Class Majority One Family at a Time,” he argued that his party’s only path to lasting dominance lay in appealing to such voters. * He even created a fictional middle-class couple from Long Island, Joe and Eileen Bailey, earning about $70,000 annually and raising two kids. He said he’d been using the Baileys in vetting policy ideas and testing messages for 20 years, and joked that his aides accused him of having imaginary friends. * Schumer also is one of his party’s most energetic fundraisers and raised large sums for the Senate Majority PAC. SMP raised more than $344 million for the 2020 election – or more than double what it raised in 2018 and nearly four times what it raised in 2016. Road to Office Schumer grew up in the Flatbush section of Brooklyn. His father was an exterminator and his mother was a homemaker. Schumer went to the same high school that produced Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Schumer graduated from Harvard and got his taste for politics working on Eugene McCarthy’s 1968 antiwar presidential bid. After also getting a law degree at Harvard, Schumer rejected job offers from law firms and instead decided to run for the New York State Assembly in 1974. He was 23. “I love politics,” Schumer said. “My parents wanted me to go to this law firm. I hated it. And I ran for the assembly against the Democratic machine. No one thought I’d win.” After six years in Albany, Schumer ran for the House seat that opened up when Democrat Elizabeth Holtzman ran for the Senate. He got 77% of the vote and ended up serving in the House from 1981 to 1999. He never fell below 70% in any House election. Schumer then moved to the Senate after mounting a challenge to the formidable three-term Republican Alfonse D’Amato. Schumer bested D’Amato by more than 10 percentage points. He’s been overwhelmingly re-elected three times and in 2016 received 70% of the vote. Schumer began working his way up the Senate leadership ranks when he was named chair of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee in 2005. He was architect of the drive to win control of the Senate in 2006 and then greatly expanded the Democrats’ majority in 2008. Schumer was a member of Reid’s leadership team and when the Nevadan announced his retirement in 2015 Schumer quickly said he would run for the Democratic leader’s job. Within a short time, Schumer secured Reid’s endorsement, as well as the backing of his expected rival for the post, Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), the party’s whip. He became minority leader in 2017. Personal Note Schumer is married to Iris Weinshall, the chief operating officer of the New York Public Library. Previously she was vice chancellor at the City University of New York and commissioner of the city’s Department of Transportation. They have two daughters. Schumer still calls Brooklyn home but for more than three decades roomed in a Capitol Hill row house with Durbin and former California Representative George Miller when Congress was in session. The three were known for their messiness. “It’s now been more than 7,000 days that Chuck hasn’t made his bed,” Miller told the Washington Post. They also were the inspiration for an Amazon television series called “Alpha House.” Miller retired at the end of the 113th Congress and sold the house. Updated Jan. 27, 2021 To contact the reporter on this story: Nancy Ognanovich in Washington at nognanov@bgov.com To contact the editor responsible for this story: Bennett Roth at broth@bgov.com