[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 178 (Tuesday, December 3, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6763-S6764]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                           Democratic Caucus

  Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, this morning, the Senate Democratic 
caucus held leadership elections for the 119th Congress.
  I am grateful, I am honored, I am humbled that my colleagues have 
again unanimously elected me to serve as their Democratic leader.
  To my Democratic colleagues: Thank you for this opportunity. Thank 
you for extending to me your trust.
  Serving as Democratic leader has been one of the greatest honors of 
my time in public office, as has been representing the people of New 
York. It has allowed me to learn more from my colleagues than I could 
have possibly dreamed of when I first took this job. And after 4 years 
of the most productive and consequential years the Senate has had in 
decades, it has galvanized my faith in this Chamber's ability to get 
big things done for the country because, wow, we got a lot done, even 
in times of division, especially when bipartisanship prevails, as it 
did with so many of our bills. Most of the major bills we passed were 
done in a bipartisan way.
  Anyone who thinks in this Chamber that we should abandon 
bipartisanship is making a huge mistake. Whether it is CHIPS and 
Science or infrastructure or gun safety or helping the veterans, gay 
marriage--you name it--we did it in a bipartisan way.
  I pledge to dedicate every ounce of my strength and focus and wit--
however much I have of that--to keep serving as leader dutifully the 
years ahead to help our caucus better serve the American people.
  I want to say, Mr. President, that I love my caucus. They are just 
such a beautiful group of people. We don't all agree--from different 
parts of the country, different ages and philosophies and backgrounds--
but every one of my caucus Members loves his or her country. Every one 
of them has made huge sacrifices to be here. And every one of them 
strives for unity, and it is one of the reasons we have been so 
successful in my last 4 years as majority leader, because our caucus 
has been great.
  I sent a little message to every Member of my caucus on Thanksgiving 
Day that I am thankful for them. It is a great group.
  Congratulations, of course, to my fellow Democrats elected to serve 
on our caucus's leadership, as well. You can't do it all alone, and I 
am glad to count

[[Page S6764]]

the Members of our leadership team--every Member of my caucus--as a 
friend, in addition to being your faithful colleague.
  I would also like to thank our dear friend Senator Patty Murray, who 
for the last 2 years has served this Chamber and served the American 
people faithfully as President pro tempore of the Senate.
  Everyone here knows no Senator can get through the day or even 
through the hour without incredible staff. I have an amazing staff led 
by Mike Lynch, who has been with me since I just about started leading 
our team in Washington, and Martin Brennan, who has also been with me 
since I just about started in New York. What an amazing group of 
dedicated people. I am blessed, truly blessed to have such a great 
staff. I thank them, each and every one for their dedication, their 
brilliance, their unflinching faith in our democracy.
  I wish to thank all of the staff across the Senate who do our 
caucus's work. You are the unsung heroes of our democracy. Every one of 
our staffers labors hard. Just about everyone could go out and make 
more money, but they are dedicated to making this country a better 
place, to helping the working people of America. We are lucky and 
blessed to have such a great staff.
  I want to send a particular thanks to the Senate floor staff. We 
weren't able to get this much done without them, particularly Gary 
Myrick and the miracle workers in the Cloakroom who make this Chamber 
come to life, as well as the members at the front desk. Thank you all.
  We have more work to do in this Chamber before the year is out, and 
we will have to hit the ground running when 2025 arrives. The 
challenges of our country remain great. Our divisions still run very 
deep, but our task in this Chamber cannot and will not change. We are 
sent here to make life better for the American people. So thank you to 
all of my colleagues. Let the work continue.