Amy Klobuchar elevated to No. 3 Senate Democrat spot

U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar was unanimously elected to the No. 3 Democrat spot in Senate leadership Tuesday and will now serve as the caucus’ chair of Steering and Policy.

In the new role, Klobuchar will work to bring outside groups from the business community and other areas before senators and help shape the caucus’ policies, especially economic policy.

Her promotion comes as Democrats are set to lose their slim majority in the Senate in the next Congress after they experienced major losses in West Virginia, Ohio and Montana.

One of the top issues for voters in the 2024 election was the economy, and much of the work the senior senator will help shape will be focused on that issue.

“I think one of the lessons of this election is that the people of our country are looking for more,” Klobuchar said in an interview. “They want to see us having their backs when it comes to costs, inflation, pharmaceutical prices. And so, a look at how we change some of our focus on policies and chart a new path forward is really important, and that’s one of the things I’ll be working on.”

Though Democrats lost the Senate, Klobuchar was one of the strongest-performing Democratic Senate candidates across the country.

As Democrats go back to the minority, Klobuchar said she’s prepared to work with Republicans when she needs to and would like to work across the aisle on child care and housing issues. But she’s also ready to push back on Republicans when needed, a role she quickly assumed when former Rep. Matt Gaetz was being considered as President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee for U.S. attorney general.

“What are the things that the American people want and need? And how do we get them there? And some of it will be working with the Republicans, and some of it will be standing our ground,” she said.

Senate Democrats re-elected current Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., to serve as their top Democrat once they return to the minority.

Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., was re-elected as Senate minority whip and Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., was elected to the No. 4 spot as chair of the Strategic Communications Committee. All four lawmakers were elected unanimously.

Klobuchar previously served as chair of the Steering and Outreach Committee when she was the No. 4 Democrat in the Senate, a role in which she was responsible for forging coalitions with Democrats on every level of government to put forth policy objectives for Senate Democrats. Her office said she was ranked number one for bipartisan bills and number three for passing bills into law in the last Congress.