Senate Dems unveil new leadership team

Senate Democrats emerged from a four-hour meeting Thursday with a new leadership team for their tenure in the minority.

In a nod toward energizing the Democratic base, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) will fill a newly created position as a special liaison to liberal groups, serving as strategic policy adviser to the Democratic Policy and Communications Committee.

{mosads}Senate Democratic leaders chose Jon Tester (D-Mont.) over Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.) to become the next chairman of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee.

Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) will serve as the next chairwoman of the Senate Democratic Steering Committee, replacing Sen. Mark Begich (D-Alaska), who lost his reelection bid last week.

Warren, who has often been named as a possible 2016 presidential candidate, said she took the new leadership role “because I believe in what the Democrats are fighting for.”

“Wall Street is doing very well. CEOs are bringing in millions more and families all across this country are struggling. We have to make this government work for the American people and that’s what we’re here to fight for,” she said.

The main leadership positions remain unchanged with Sen. Harry Reid (Nev.) slated to become Senate Democratic leader and Sen. Dick Durbin (Ill.) keeping his job as Senate Democratic whip.

Reid pledged in a press conference after the meeting that he would not seek revenge against Republicans by waging knee-jerk filibusters against their agenda in the new Congress.

“This is not get-even time. I do not intend to run the Democratic Caucus like the Republican Caucus has been run in the minority. I am not going to do that,” he said.

Reid said he asked Klobuchar, his new Steering Committee chairwoman, to find a list of bipartisan bills that could pass with Democratic support under the new Republican majority next year.

“We want to legislate. We’re not for stalling,” he told reporters.

Sen. Charles Schumer (N.Y.), the third-ranking member of the Democratic leadership, will stay the chairman of the Democratic Policy and Communications Committee, and Sen. Debbie Stabenow (Mich.) will continue serving as the committe’s vice-chairwoman.

Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) will keep her fourth-ranking slot as Senate Democratic conference secretary.  

— This story was updated at 5:38 p.m.