A member of the Democratic Party , he has led the Senate Democratic Caucus since and served as Senate majority leader from to Elected to a fifth term in , Schumer surpassed Moynihan and Jacob K. Javits as the longest-serving U. He is the dean of New York's congressional delegation. He served nine terms in the United States House of Representatives from to , first representing New York's 16th congressional district before being redistricted to the 10th congressional district in and 9th congressional district 10 years later.
Schumer chaired the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee from to , overseeing 14 Democratic gains in the Senate in the and elections. In January , Schumer became Senate majority leader, becoming the first Jewish Senate majority leader. Also under his leadership, the Senate confirmed the most federal judges during the first two years of any presidency since John F. Kennedy 's, and the most diverse slate of federal judicial nominations in American history, [ 6 ] including Ketanji Brown Jackson , the first African American woman to serve on the Supreme Court.
He competed for Madison High on the television quiz show It's Academic. He passed the New York state bar in early , but never practiced law, opting rather for a career in politics.
In , 16th district U. Schumer ran for Holtzman's vacated House seat and won. In , as a result of redistricting , Schumer faced a potential matchup with Solarz, but the matchup did not materialize. If I were to stand a chance of being re-elected, I needed some help,' he would later tell the Associated Press. As a member of the House Judiciary Committee , Schumer was one of four members of Congress who oversaw the House investigation leading the Democratic party's defense of the Clinton administration , [ 24 ] of the Waco siege hearings in In , Schumer ran for the Senate.
Many New York Republicans were dismayed by the selection of Mills over the conservative Michael Benjamin , who held significant advantages over Mills in both fundraising and organization. Notable former aides to Schumer include former U.
