Schumer promises Dems will hold Trump accountable

Sen. Charles Schumer is issuing an early warning to President-elect Donald Trump as the New York Democrat takes over as the party’s Senate leader.

“What we will always do is hold the president-elect and his Republican colleagues in Congress accountable,” Schumer said Tuesday from the Senate floor. “The Senate has a rich bipartisan tradition of being a constitutional check on presidents of both parties.”

Schumer added that the next two years will feature an “accountability Congress,” with Democrats laying out “benchmarks” for Trump’s administration.

“We will hold President-elect Trump accountable to the values that truly make America great, but we’ll fight him tooth and nail when he appeals to the baser instincts that diminish America and its greatness, instincts that have too often plagued this country and his campaign,” he said.

{mosads}Democrats have blasted Trump since the election for walking back his pledge to reform Washington and “drain the swamp.”

Schumer warned Tuesday that Trump’s administration is doomed to fail if he shifts away from his campaign narrative of being a “change agent.”

“If you abandon change and simply enhance the shop-worn, hard right, pro-corporation, pro-elite policies diametrically opposed to the many campaign themes that helped you win working class votes … your presidency will not succeed,” he said. 

He added that Democrats will “hold [Trump’s] feet to the fire” and urged Trump to engage on policy issues.

“With all due respect, America cannot afford a Twitter presidency,” he said.

Schumer’s remarks come as Republicans prepare to take control of both Congress and the White House for the first time in roughly a decade.

Senate Republicans can pass Trump’s Cabinet picks with 50 votes, but unlike in the House, they’ll need Democratic support to pass most legislation, as well as to approve a Supreme Court nomination.

Schumer touched on myriad policy issues he said Democrats will be watching Trump closely on, including his position on China, his relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin and his campaign pledge to oppose cuts to Medicare.

The New York Post reported over the weekend that Trump told Schumer — a fellow New Yorker with whom he has a long history — that he likes him more than he likes Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) or House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.).

Asked about the report, Schumer told CNN that the president-elect said “something close to it.”

“When you get to be in my position, people do tend to want to flatter you and you’ve got to take it with a grain of salt,” Schumer added.