WASHINGTON (AP) – During their eight overlapping years in the U.S. Senate, Hillary Clinton and Chuck Schumer were political partners, friendly – and sometimes less than friendly – rivals. Both were influential powerbrokers for New York, his home state and her adopted one.
Now, their political fortunes could be aligning once again.
If Clinton wins the White House, Schumer is expected to be her top Democratic partner in the Senate – with the November election also determining whether he’ll be leading a majority or minority. In either case, their relationship would quickly become one of the most important in Washington, a linchpin in Clinton’s efforts to garner congressional support for her priorities.
The two already speak a few times a month on the presidential race and Senate landscape. They’re also eying an agenda for 2017 that includes a sweeping immigration overhaul, an infrastructure package and gun control legislation.
“We basically think alike,” said Schumer, the Brooklyn-accented lawmaker with unfettered enthusiasm for the Senate’s often tedious work. “We have the same legislative approach: Let’s reach out to get the other side and not let the perfect be the enemy of the good.”