What Schumer’s Rise To Senate Majority Leader Means For New York

There has never been a Senate majority leader from New York, let alone one from Brooklyn.

But after Democrats claimed razor-thin wins in a pair of Georgia runoffs, Senator Chuck Schumer will soon be taking charge of the legislative agenda in Washington’s upper chamber, and — by extension — place New York in line to reap the benefits.

How much can a Senate majority leader do for his home state?

A lot. There is a long bipartisan tradition of majority leaders helping their home states out, whether it be through direct funding of projects, such as water plants in Mississippi, under the leadership of Trent Lott, a Republican, or more recently, the advocacy of Harry Reid, a Democrat, to sell off public lands and allow Nevada to use the profits for improvements.

In Washington, Senator Mitch McConnell, a Republican, is primarily known for his uncanny ability to keep his conference in line and on schedule, delivering major victories for Mr. Trump on tax reform, the confirmation of three Supreme Court justices, and, of course, the president’s acquittal on impeachment charges last year.

But the outgoing majority leader was also known for bringing money to his home state of Kentucky, which regularly ranks as one of the top “taker states” in the nation — meaning that it receives far more federal assistance than it provides in tax revenue.

Mr. Schumer, a diligent practitioner of old-fashioned politics, seems perfectly suited to carry on this tradition. He makes a habit of traveling to all of the state’s 62 counties every year and announcing ample servings of pork: $8 million for a Cornell lab, $81.5 million for the Rochester Institute of Technology, $14 million for Covid-19 efforts. And that was just since New Year’s Day.

Read more at New York Times.

{Matzav.com}