Lulu Garcia Navarro

But before we do, I am curious about—

the problem of party leadership.

For example, Senator Chuck Schumer, the Senate minority leader, isn't popular with the Democratic base.

And Senator Smith, you are part of a so-called fight club that is looking to get new leadership.

Can you explain what you think is needed?

And is the leadership of the respective parties part of what's going on here?

Which is interesting because when I spoke to Senator Schumer, he touted that as his greatest sort of strength, that he really can choose candidates that win.

And so, you know, you get a Governor Janet Mills running in Maine at 77 against Graham Plattner, who's 41 and more progressive.

And so, you know, that sets up an intraparty fight.

I'm wondering what you think of Republican leader John Thune, who broadly people view him as being less obsequious to Trump.

That he's not exactly like Speaker of the House Johnson, according to critics, who really takes everything that he's doing from the White House.

That said, he has been accused of sort of chipping away at the filibuster by allowing a number of simple majority votes, ushering in what the New Yorker called the age of Senate irrelevance.

So, Senator Flake, I mean, why do you think he's so weak?

Is he so weak?

And I think under his power back, though, why?

I mean, he is the Senate majority leader.

Why isn't he doing it?

After the break, we talk about why Congress has so much trouble fixing the things voters care about most.

Let me give you the counterpoint to this dream of bipartisanship, which is, did we get here perhaps because the Senate's been ineffective at responding to the real problems that voters have?

Because it's incremental.