Sanders Joins New Democrats on Senate Finance This Congress

Senate Finance Committee Democrats added five new members to their side of the dais, including outspoken progressive Bernie Sanders who has been a vocal critic of Republicans in the run-up to this year’s negotiations over tax cut extensions.

Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), and Peter Welch (D-Vt.) are joining the committee, according to a Democratic announcement Thursday. The new members replenish a bench decimated this year by retirements and election losses, as Democrats seek to address expiring individual provisions in the 2017 tax law from the wilderness of the chamber’s minority.

Warnock said in a Thursday statement he would prioritize re-expanding the child tax credit while opposing tariffs, tax cuts for the wealthy, and “any efforts to gut critical safety net programs.”

Sanders said in November that he plans to use the post to “prioritize protecting Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid from Republican attacks” and create a fair tax system that forces the very wealthy to pay their fair share.

Finance Republicans, who will be led by Chair Mike Crapo (R-Idaho), lost no members and added Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.) to the panel giving them a 14-13 advantage.