WASHINGTON, D.C. — When Congress convenes Tuesday in Washington, D.C., West Virginia U.S. Senator Joe Manchin expects to have a better working relationship with the Democratic Party leader of the Senate.
Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) is taking over as Senate minority leader with the retirement of former leader Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nevada). Manchin recently said he already knows he’ll work better with Schumer.
“There’s no doubt about it–Harry and I– we mixed like oil and water,” Manchin said during a December appearance on MetroNews “Talkline.” “We just didn’t get along. We didn’t see eye-to-eye on anything but Schumer and I have built up a great friendship.”
Schumer can look past some of their differences, Manchin said.
“We are different–coming from New York and West Virginia–but he respects it and he knows where I’m coming from. It’s been wonderful. He’s giving me an opportunity, I’ll be on leadership,” Manchin said.
Manchin, a leading Democratic moderate, will fill a specific role for Schumer.
“He told me, ‘Your job for the Democratic Caucus is to find out if there’s a pathway forward with our Republican friends,'” Manchin said. “So that tells me that Chuck wants to get something done. He wants to find people who are trying to do the right thing.”
Manchin has also forged a relationship in recent weeks with President-elect Donald Trump. The senator believes that will help in his new leadership role.
“My job is to work with President Trump and his administration, (House Speaker) Paul Ryan and his leadership and (Senate Majority Leader) Mitch McConnell, to find out if we can get eight Democrats in the Senate to go along with some of their policies and try to move the country forward and that’s what I’m going to do,” Manchin said.
The Republicans hold a 52-48 advantage in the Senate.