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WASHINGTON — Incoming Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer spoke to reporters in Washington on Wednesday, November 4, 2026, a day after Democrats won control of the Senate in the November 3 midterm elections, and declined to give a yes-or-no answer when asked whether he supports eliminating the Senate filibuster.
Instead, Schumer said Democrats' first priority would be lowering costs and working through the legislative process. He then thanked reporters and walked away from the podium. When pressed again about working with the president, he said Democrats would work hard to drive costs down "with the president or without him."
Schumer also told reporters that "relief is on the way" and that Americans voted for change, after Democrats flipped Republican-held Senate seats. He is in line to return as Senate majority leader when the new Congress begins on January 3, 2027.
What is at stake is the Senate's 60-vote threshold: most legislation needs 60 of the Senate's 100 votes to end debate. Eliminating the filibuster — often called the "nuclear option" — would let a majority pass bills with 51 votes. Schumer neither ruled elimination out nor said he would pursue it, and his non-answer is what leaves the question open.