Durbin’s Decision Set to Spur Senate Democrat Leadership Shuffle

Minority Whip Dick Durbin’s decision to forgo running for re-election next year will shuffle Senate Democrats’ long-held leadership team.

The team already saw some changes this Congress that elevated different faces into higher roles, including several who ran unsuccessful bids for president in 2020. They are among those most likely to replace Durbin at the start of the next Congress, including:

• Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), who moved up to the No. 3 leadership slot this year. When she secured the job, Klobuchar, 64, said it was “time to find common ground when we can, and stand our ground where we must.”

Klobuchar would be the first woman to be the Senate Democratic whip, an argument that could appeal to party that counts female voters as a large part of its base.

• Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) who moved to the No. 4 spot this Congress in a new position: Chair of Strategic Communications Committee. Then he raised his profile this month when he set a new record for the longest speech on the Senate floor, lasting more than 25 hours where he bashed the Trump administration’s actions and saw praise from his party.

Booker Breaks Senate Floor Speech Record in Trump Attack

“A lot of people out there are asking Democrats to do more, to take risks and do things differently,” Booker, 55, said after his speech. “A lot of us have to do a lot more, including myself.”

He too would be a first as Senate Democrats have never had a Black person in a senior leadership post.

There’s also Senate Democrats’ two deputy democratic conference secretaries in the mix: Sens. Brian Schatz (Hawaii) and Chris Murphy (Conn.).

• Murphy, 51, joined the leadership team this year and is seen as a rising star in the party, becoming one of the prominent party voices on social media and traveling to Republican-held districts outside his state for town halls.

“I certainly am an alarmist. I believe that we might lose our democracy this year, and so my belief is that we should be using whatever leverage we have in order to try to stop that,” Murphy said. “That’s still a live issue inside the party.”

Sen. Murphy Vows to Fix ‘Broken’ Democrats in New Leader Role

• Schatz, meanwhile, was one of 10 in the caucus who voted to avert the government shutdown despite the criticism he knew would come from activists and the left wing. Some saw his alignment with Schumer on the contentious vote as a sign that he was looking ahead at his future in leadership.

“I understand people’s frustration - I share it,” Schatz, 52, said after the vote. “We can’t let disagreements about strategy and tactics divide us. We need to focus our energy on the real villain here: Donald Trump.”

A long tenure

Durbin (D-Ill.), who has served as Senate Democrats’ No. 2 since 2005, announced his long-awaited decision on Wednesday that he wouldn’t run again in 2026. Next Congress will be the first time in two decades that Durbin won’t be in that post.

The whip position is not clearly defined, beyond it being the second ranking Democrat in the Senate who sometimes fill in for the leader on the floor and in caucus meetings. Durbin used the job to push liberal priorities on immigration and judges, while also claiming a top Appropriations slot.

“In my heart, I know it’s time to pass the torch,” Durbin, 80, said in a video statement after months of speculation.

Durbin also serves as top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, opening another powerful role that the party has used to push back against the Trump administration. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) is his most likely successor on Judiciary.

Durbin Senate Retirement Could Spur Crowded Democratic Contest

Durbin’s retirement comes amid recent backlash against Senate Democrats, including Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), for helping Republicans advance a GOP spending bill earlier this year that averted a government shutdown. The vote infuriated liberals who want to see more aggressive actions from Democrats, at a time when the party had already been facing questions around the age of its leaders.

Although Schumer, who is not up for re-election until 2028, has repeatedly said he’s not going anywhere in leadership, recent polls have shown the command that Schumer, 74, has on the party has been shaken among voters. Some younger Senate Democrats — who’ve been stepping into the spotlight in the meantime — are expected to look to climb up. The whip would be in a good position to someday take over for Schumer.

But some activists want to see dramatic change sooner, even if there isn’t agreement on who’s next in line. Ezra Levin, co-executive director of Indivisible, one of the groups that has called on Schumer to resign, is pushing for Senate Democrats to make a leadership change before midterm elections.

“I think the Senate Democrats are going to do worse in the 2026 elections if Chuck Schumer is at the helm,” he said. But on who should be next? Levin said there’s “a pretty deep bench of talented senators, so I don’t have a dog in the fight.”