Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York declared “relief is on the way” at a Wednesday news conference after Democrats won control of the Senate, laying out the party’s stated priorities for the new majority: lowering costs, addressing corruption and ending the war in Iran, Fox News reported.
“Against all odds, Democrats have won the Senate, and we have five words for the American people: Relief is on the way,” Schumer said. “The American people did not give us the majority so we can do whatever we want: They entrusted us with the majority to do what they, the American people, want.”
Sen. Chuck Schumer (U.S. Senate Photographic Studio / public domain).
On the war, Schumer was blunt: “The American people don’t know what the heck we’re fighting for in Iran,” he said of President Trump. “He never made it clear. He changes his mind day to day and minute to minute. This war must end.” He suggested Democrats could use Congress’s power over spending to pressure the administration – a hint, not an announced measure.
“Republicans are going to have to choose whether to keep listening to the nonsense that’s coming out of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, or start acting in the interests of the American people,” he added.
In an expanded exchange with reporters, Fox News reported, Schumer said he has not spoken with Trump since the election and pledged to deliver affordability for Americans “with or without Trump.” He predicted he will keep his own job – “I will be reelected” as caucus leader, he said, dismissing comments from Senators-elect Troy Jackson and Abdul El-Sayed, who have said they will not vote for him. That was a prediction, not a result: the caucus has not yet voted.
Schumer also declined to rule out withholding the defense budget as leverage, vowing to “end the war” – a refusal to take the option off the table, not an announced funding cut. He stayed silent when asked whether the Senate would work on prosecuting members of the Trump administration, while vowing to fight corruption. He called the results “generational,” said the “GOP misread the American people,” and warned Republicans they were “following Trump off the cliff” if they embrace MAGA again.
Schumer, who will lead the new Senate majority, said voters gave Democrats a chance to prove they could deliver, and named affordability and corruption among the issues that drove the result. Everything he listed Wednesday was a stated priority; no legislation has been introduced or passed, and the new Congress does not convene until January.
What it means for you: the party that controls the Senate controls what gets a vote – on judges, on the budget, and on any effort to cut off money for the war. Schumer’s speech was a promise, not policy, but it tells you where the first fights of 2027 will be: prices, corruption investigations and Iran funding.
JBizNews Desk | Washington
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