WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥 Senate Democrats reelected Chuck Schumer as party leader on Tuesday as the party moves into a deeply uncertain time, with no real consensus on a strategy as President-elect Donald Trump prepares to take office.

Schumer faced no opposition in the party leadership elections, in which Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin was also reelected to the No. 2 spot and Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar became the new No. 3. In a statement, Schumer, of New York, said he was honored to move the party forward 鈥渄uring this crucial period for our country.鈥

鈥淥ur preference is to secure bipartisan solutions wherever possible and look for ways to collaborate with our Republican colleagues to help working families,鈥 Schumer said. 鈥淗owever, our Republican colleagues should make no mistake about it, we will always stand up for our values.鈥

While Schumer remains popular with his colleagues, it is a bleak moment for Senate Democrats, who had been hopeful that they could hold the majority for the third election in a row. Instead they lost four seats and will be in the minority, 53-47, as Trump takes office and pressures the Senate to quickly confirm his Cabinet nominees.

Unlike eight years ago, when opposition to Trump鈥檚 narrow election win fueled enthusiasm in their party, Democratic lawmakers and many of their voters are exhausted and looking for answers.

So far, Democrats have stayed relatively quiet on Trump鈥檚 nominees and plans for office 鈥 a stark contrast from the loud opposition to Trump when he was elected eight years ago. Schumer has declined to comment on specifics of any nominees, instead allowing Republican reaction to dominate the conversation.

On Monday, Schumer wrote a public letter to South Dakota Sen. John Thune, the incoming Republican majority leader, asking him to resist Trump鈥檚 pressure to allow him to appoint some of his nominees without a Senate vote and to insist on full FBI background checks for all nominees. But he has said little else about Trump鈥檚 upcoming presidency.

While some have been more aggressive 鈥 Washington Sen. Patty Murray, a former chairwoman of the Senate Health, Labor, Education and Pensions Committee, said that Trump鈥檚 nomination of Robert Kennedy Jr. to lead the Health and Human Services Department is 鈥渄angerous鈥 and 鈥渘othing short of disaster鈥 鈥 several Democratic senators say they are saving their strength and figuring out a focus.

鈥淓verybody鈥檚 in kind of in a wait-and-see mode right now,鈥 said Nevada Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, who is part of Schumer鈥檚 leadership team. 鈥淯nder the previous Trump administration, there was chaos all the time, all the time. And I do think it is important to pick your battles.鈥

It鈥檚 still unclear which battles they will pick. And Democrats have differing opinions on how to fight them.

Hawaii Sen. Brian Schatz, who is also in Democratic leadership, says that 鈥渁nyone who has a grand strategy is full of crap,鈥 but thinks that Democrats, for now, 鈥渘eed to keep things simple.鈥

鈥淲e need to talk about people, protect people, advocate for people,鈥 Schatz said. 鈥淒o not talk about protecting institutions. Do not talk about advocating for institutions. It鈥檚 a not just a rhetorical shift, but an attitudinal shift. We have to remind ourselves, that we鈥檙e not fighting for programs and projects and line items and agencies or norms. We鈥檙e fighting for people.鈥

Virginia Sen. Mark Warner said that he鈥檚 spent a lot of time reflecting, and 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think anyone can claim this was a policy election,鈥 and Democrats need to look at cultural issues. Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman says Democrats just need to 鈥減ace ourselves鈥 and avoid the 鈥渕assive freakout鈥 of Trump's last term.

Democrats should be preparing, says Connecticut Sen. Richard Blumenthal. He says Schumer is picking his battles 鈥渧ery thoughtfully and strategically.鈥

鈥淲e鈥檙e thinking about how we protect against using the FBI, or the prosecutorial authority of the Justice Department for retribution against critics,鈥 said Blumenthal. 鈥淗ow we elevate these issues in a way that American people understand them.鈥

Democrats know better now, after eight years, 鈥渢he extraordinary challenges we鈥檙e going to face,鈥 Blumenthal said.

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