WASHINGTON (AP) – Senate Democrats and Republicans are meeting separately to pick leaders for the Congress that convenes in January.
Democrats are turning to Sen. Chuck Schumer to steer them into the Donald Trump era. He’s a Brooklyn-bred partisan infighter with a pragmatic streak.
Republicans are sticking with their veteran leader, Sen. Mitch McConnell. The Kentuckian lacks Schumer’s instinct for soundbites but has been a brutally effective legislative tactician.
Their selections are expected to produce little drama. That’s the opposite of the House.
There, Republicans have voted to re-nominate Paul Ryan of Wisconsin to be speaker, despite misgivings from hard-right lawmakers and fervent Trump supporters.