Chuck Schumer: "We are not going to sacrifice our principles for the sake of compromise."
(CNN)Chuck Schumer arrived for his first day as Senate Democratic leader to a large, new Capitol suite still strewn with unpacked boxes.
"It's a little fancier than I'm used to, but it goes with the territory," Schumer told us, as he sat down for his maiden television interview as the Senate's top Democrat.
Schumer was hoping to be the new Democratic Senate majority leader, working with Hillary Clinton in the White House. Instead, he is leading the Trump opposition. The former would have been more fun, he conceded, but he says being minority leader now is "more important."
Here's how he described a recent phone conversation with Donald Trump: "I said, 'Mr. President-elect, you went after both the Democratic and Republican establishments when you ran; you were an anti-establishment change candidate. But by your Cabinet picks and your early pronouncements, you seem to be embracing your timeworn, shop-worn hard right,'" he recalled.
"If you do that, your presidency will not come close to being a success," he told Trump.
For Schumer, success will be even more complicated. He has to walk a very fine line between when to work with Trump, and when to oppose him. Schumer describes it as "accountability."
"The only way we're going to work with him is if he moves completely in our direction and abandons his Republican colleagues," Schumer said.
Schumer: 'We're not compromising for its own sake'
"90-95% of the time, we'll be holding his feet to the fire, holding him accountable. But we're Democrats, we're not going to just oppose things to oppose them," he added.
Schumer started his congressional career in the House in 1981, and served there until successfully defeating longtime Republican Sen. Alfonse D'Amato in 1998.
He climbed the Democratic ranks as a fierce partisan and prolific fundraiser, but in recent years turned his attention to also becoming a successful legislator who can work across the aisle. He played a key role in crafting bipartisan Senate immigration reform in 2013, though the bill stalled in the House and never became law.
Schumer loves being the center of deal making, a lot like the incoming president.
"Well, here's the problem. The Republicans in the Senate and the House have been run by a hard right group," said Schumer.
Schumer: I wish we hadn't triggered 'nuclear option'
But what about now that they have a dealmaker in the White House?
"Look, we're going to look at the specifics," Schumer said. "And on the overwhelming bunch of it, particularly given who he's chosen as his Cabinet people, we're going to have to oppose him because we just disagree in principle."
"Of course I'd like to make a deal," he added.
Many progressives scoff at the notion of Schumer even considering any form of compromise with Trump.
Democracy for America, a leading progressive group, said: "Democratic leaders from Chuck Schumer down need to stop playing footsie with Trump and pretending we can find."
Schumer's response: "We're playing no footsie. My views are exactly the same as Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders
http://www.cnn.com/2017/01/03/politics/chuck-schumer-donald-trump-opposition-leader/index.html
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