Senator Cory Booker has a new title: chair of the Senate Democrats’ Strategic Communications Committee.
The position, which did not exist before today, means that Booker will now be the fourth-highest-ranking Democrat in the Senate. Booker and the other members of Senate Democratic leadership, including soon-to-be Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-New York) and Minority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Illinois), were elected unanimously by the Democratic conference this morning.
“I am humbled that Majority Leader Schumer and my colleagues have entrusted me to be the new Chair of the Senate Democratic Strategic Communications Committee,” Booker said in a statement. “In this position, I’m excited to help lead our Caucus’ communication and messaging strategy, ensuring the accomplishments and priorities of Senate Democrats are heard loud and clear across the county. I look forward to using creative strategies and new technology and platforms to speak directly to the American people.”
Per Axios and other news outlets, Booker had initially angled to take retiring Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-Michigan)’s slot as chair of the Steering and Policy Committee, the third-highest position in the Democratic conference. But with that role instead going to Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-Minnesota), who has a nearly seven-year seniority advantage over Booker, Schumer instead created the new role of Strategic Communications Committee chair for Booker to take.
Democrats in Washington are heading into 2025 with little in the way of concrete power, having lost control of the Senate and presidency and failing to flip the House. Senate Democrats, who currently hold the majority, will be down to 47 seats come January, one fewer than they held at the beginning of Donald Trump’s first administration in 2017.
But within that smaller conference, Booker – who recently became New Jersey’s senior senator after nearly 11 years in the Senate thanks to the resignation of Bob Menendez – will have a more prominent role than ever before. Booker, of course, ran for president in 2020, and has kept up a national profile in the years since then.
“While the next Congress presents a unique set of challenges, our party will continue to champion policies that build an America where everyone has the opportunity to thrive and nobody is left behind,” he said. “It is my privilege to serve my constituents, the Caucus, and our country in this new Congress alongside my colleagues and Leader Schumer.”