Senate’s likely next No. 2 warns Trump if Democrats take the majority: ‘It’s going to be a fight’ on key values

By Alison Main, CNN

(CNN) — Sen. Brian Schatz, who many believe will take over the No. 2 role in the Democratic caucus next year, has a warning for President Donald Trump: He could be dealing with a very different Washington if Democrats achieve the electoral gains they’re hoping for this fall.

“The quality of the nominees would immediately have to go up, because they’re not going to get people like Bill Pulte or RFK Jr. or Pete Hegseth through the United States Senate if the Democrats run that,” he told CNN’s Manu Raju, listing some of the president’s more controversial administration picks, who have received no votes of confidence from Democrats.

After two years of Republicans fighting to push Trump’s agenda through Congress with their narrow majorities, Democrats hope the president’s dwindling approval numbers will help them secure control over both chambers and usher in a new wave of leaders on Capitol Hill.

Though Schatz superstitiously knocks on wood when his potential ascent is mentioned, he is widely viewed as the likely choice to succeed retiring Sen. Dick Durbin as Democratic whip next year.

In a wide-ranging interview for “Inside Politics Sunday,” the Hawaii Democrat laid out an aggressive, yet pragmatic, approach for taking on Trump if he secures the No. 2 role in a Democratic majority in January.

“I think you find common ground where possible and you stand your ground when necessary,” he said. “When it comes to our core values, core American values, it’s going to be a fight.”

That fight could come over issues such as confirming a potential fourth Trump appointee to the Supreme Court or confronting the threats by some Democrats to impeach the president for a third time.

While some nominees in Trump’s first term received sparse Democratic support, largely from former West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin, Schatz made clear the bar could be even higher if the president has the opportunity to make another appointment to the high court.

“We would certainly execute on our role of advice and consent, take it very seriously,” he vowed. “I don’t think they’d be able to ram anybody through.”

‘A million impeachable things’

Schatz, who already is a member of Senate Democratic leadership, said he believes the president has done “a million impeachable things,” but he weighs the matter of impeachment as an “important tactical question.”

A Democratic-controlled House, presumably led by now-Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, would have choices to make, Schatz noted. Those include whether to impeach Cabinet secretaries first and when to take action against Trump as the next presidential campaign cycle begins in earnest.

“If they moved an impeachment to the Senate, I think it’s very likely predictable how everyone would vote. But for that very reason, I think they should measure twice and cut once,” he said.

It will take more than just a fighting spirit to score Democratic wins across the country, Schatz believes, promoting what he calls “an affirmative vision for America.”

He sees healthcare and tariffs, as well as curbing “foreign policy adventurism,” as areas where a Democratic-led Senate could push back on the Trump administration and win over voters.

“The reason that the public is not behind this war is they never bothered to make the case for it,” Schatz said, explaining that Democrats would approach the war in Iran with a congressional vote over whether to authorize Trump’s use of military force.

While then-President Joe Biden boasted a return to normalcy as Democrats rose to power across Washington in 2021, Schatz doesn’t think that’s what Americans desire now, even as they grow more wary of Trump.

“First of all, that’s probably not even possible, mechanically speaking, but second of all, that’s not actually what people want,” he said.

Democrats must grapple with broad unfavorability ratings that have plagued the party in recent years, which Schatz ascribes to a view of Democrats as “disconnected from what people were going through economically.”

“Prices were too high, and we had an 80-year-old president, and I think one of the reasons that people are starting to turn around politically is that prices are even higher, and we again have an 80-year-old president,” he said.

“We’ve got a lot of work to do in terms of recovering the trust that we once had, especially with working-class voters, but I think we’re on the way to doing that by demonstrating a little bit better discipline, and a little bit better focus than usual on the cost of living,” he continued.

Still, he thinks sweeping election-year agendas are “overrated,” arguing the party will litigate the strongest positions on issues such as healthcare and cost reductions during a likely raucous 2028 presidential primary cycle.

“Lots of people will have lots of proposals, but I’m not particularly interested at this stage in settling all those questions before November,” he said.

Schatz is leaving the door open to one day becoming now-Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s successor, but insisted it would be “obnoxious” to talk about that aspiration publicly.

But he’s far from the growing chorus of Democrats, including many running in key Senate races, who want Schumer to be ousted over discontent with his ability to guide his caucus through Trump’s second term.

“Look, candidates are going to do whatever they need to do to win, but it is very common, whether it was Nancy Pelosi or Mitch McConnell or John Thune, to be critical of the people in power,” he explained, affirming he has 100% confidence in Schumer’s leadership.

Many of those candidates who want to see 75-year-old Schumer go are among a younger wave of progressive Democrats urging generational change within the party.

Schatz, 53, said some of that shift is already happening — more than half of the most recent class of Senate Democratic freshmen are in their 40s and 50s — but the fresh energy Democrats are craving has more to do with ideology than age.

“What I think people are looking for is vigor and a sort of new way of doing things. I don’t think they’re always looking at the question chronologically,” he said.

But inspiring the party with newness doesn’t simply mean a broad pivot to the left, Schatz said.

“The beauty of a winning political coalition is, at some level, it doesn’t always make sense. There are going to be, you know, your Fettermans and your Platners and your Bernies and your Joe Manchins,” he said.

Schatz pointed to Trump’s “contradictory coalition,” spanning from traditional hawkish conservatives to anti-interventionist right-wingers, that helped him defeat then-Vice President Kamala Harris in 2024.

“That’s how you cobble together a winning coalition, is to allow the tent to be wide enough so that you actually have some very serious disagreements,” he said.

As heir apparent to the whip role, Schatz could soon be in charge of attempting to align the likes of Sen. John Fetterman, a brash Pennsylvania Democrat who has occasionally sided with Republicans on issues such as government shutdowns and Israel, and Graham Platner, Maine’s Democratic Senate nominee who holds progressive views and is weathering a series of personal scandals.

“Talking, talking, talking” would help him bridge those gaps, Schatz said. “There’s an old saying in Hawaii that everything in Hawaii is political except politics, which is personal, and I continue to think politics at this level is about relationships.”

“It’s a little bit of social work, it’s a little bit of understanding how people are motivated and animated and why they’re here, and I think if I can stay there and be useful to members, then I can play a constructive role.”

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