Schumer gets ready to go on the offensive
By Alexander Bolton - 12/06/18 06:00 AM EST
After spending the past two years trying to protect 10 incumbent Democrats in pro-Trump states, the Senate minority leader is ready to put Republicans on the defensive, knowing the GOP will have a tougher electoral map to defend in 2020.
Republicans will have a bigger Senate majority next year — 53 seats compared to 51 seats now — but will also have more seats that Democrats are looking to pick off in the next election cycle.
Schumer has started flexing his muscles in the lame-duck session of Congress. He’s pushing Republicans to add measures such as protecting special counsel Robert Mueller and eliminating a question about citizenship from the U.S. census to a year-end spending package.
He has also dismissed the possibility of reviving an immigration deal he offered to President Trump earlier this year that would fully fund the proposed border wall in exchange for protections for immigrants who came to the country illegally at a young age.
“It’s harder to be bold when you’re in the minority, and there were a lot of red-state Democrats up for reelection,†said Mike Lux, a Democratic strategist who served as a White House adviser during the Clinton administration. “Do I think they were especially bold in the last cycle? No, not especially, but I think there were political reasons for that.â€
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https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/419969-schumer-gets-ready-to-go-on-the-offensive
