Schumer stressed to rally attendees that he’s working to win bipartisan support for the forthcoming bill he plans to introduce with Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ).
“I have invited every U.S. senator—every Democrat, every Republican—to come meet with us and tell us why they won’t support the bill or whether they will, and I’m making good progress,” Schumer said. “I’ve already met with six Republicans, so we can get 10 [and] we can get the 60 votes we need on the floor of the Senate to pass legislation that is so important.”
Schumer, who said the goal is to “legalize cannabis from one end of America to the other,” may in fact need to win over the support of more than 10 Republicans—itself a tall order—as not all 50 members of his Senate Democratic caucus support legalization at this point.
“This is mainstream. A majority of America believes we should legalize once and for all. And we are working to do that in the United States Senate. We are working hard to get that done.”
Nonetheless, he exuded confidence in reform’s prospects at the rain-soaked New York City rally.