WorldUS midterms
Schumer says Democrats will drive costs down 'with the president or without him'
A day after his party won back the Senate, Chuck Schumer told a news conference in Washington that Republicans had followed Donald Trump 'over the cliff' and that Democrats now had to deliver on prices.
Key points
- Chuck Schumer said Democrats will drive costs down with or without Trump.
- Democrats have flipped at least seven Senate seats, from Kansas to Maine.
- Control of Congress gives Democrats the power to block Trump's agenda and appointees.
Chuck Schumer, who will lead the Senate when the new Congress meets in January, promised on Wednesday that Democrats would go after high prices whether or not President Donald Trump cooperates. “We are going to work hard to drive costs down, with the president or without him,” he said, closing a news conference in Washington.
He spoke a day after Tuesday’s vote, in which Democrats flipped at least seven Republican Senate seats: Kansas, Iowa, Texas, Ohio, Maine, North Carolina and South Carolina. They also held their seats in Georgia and Michigan.
‘Over the cliff’
Schumer put the Republican defeat down to loyalty to the president. “Republicans made a choice and followed Trump over the cliff,” he said. “We listened, they didn’t. And the American people reduced the red brick wall to a pile of bricks.”
On election night he had been more exuberant. “Against all odds, we Democrats have won the Senate!” he told supporters, before ending with a warning to his own side: “Americans voted for change and now, Democrats must deliver.”
What changes in January
With majorities in both chambers, Democrats will have the power to block Trump’s legislative agenda, reject his nominees and open investigations into his administration. Prices were the issue voters named most often, with petrol and groceries costlier since the war with Iran began in February.
Not every race is settled. The Alaska Senate contest between Republican Dan Sullivan and Democrat Mary Peltola, and the Mississippi Senate race, were still being counted on Wednesday, and dozens of House seats were undecided, so the final size of the Democratic majorities is not yet known.