Sen.-elect Adam Hamilton, who defeated Kansas for Democrats, said Sunday that he hopes to prioritize cost-cutting for his constituents in the next Congress and would be “deeply disappointed” if he spent two years investigating members of the Trump administration. “The biggest priority for me, and I think for most people in America, especially people who live paycheck to paycheck, is ‘please help us with the cost of living,’” Hamilton told NBC News’ “Meet the Press.” He said the new Congress should immediately focus on ending the war in Iran and “scratching”[ing] support tariff policies.” “If I spent the next two years (my first two years in the Senate) on investigations, I would be deeply disappointed. I want to get to work helping people in my state and helping people across the country,” Hamilton said. After Democrats’ landslide victories on Tuesday, which gave them control of the House and Senate in the next Congress, newly elected leaders and those who were re-elected are focusing on their priorities for the next two years. Many are calling on their colleagues to focus on an affordability agenda, but some senior leaders have said they will also prioritize oversight and investigations into possible corruption by President Donald Trump and his allies. “Any time Trump defies the will of the American people or the law, we will launch investigations, take him to court and entangle him in legislative barbed wire,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., told reporters Wednesday. “I’m not as interested in impeachment as I am in putting up roadblocks,” Hamilton said Sunday, though he added, “I understand the move and the senator-elect’s desire to do this.” He also warned members of his party that they should not focus too much on investigations and oversight to make life more affordable for Americans, in terms of helping people, this is going to be a one-off, kind of, you know, kind of a blue wave.” In his later appearance on the show, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., agreed with Hamilton. “I think Senator-elect Hamilton made a good point,” Sanders said on “Meet the Press,” adding, “We can’t spend all our time investigating Trump. We have to stand up for working-class families, make a real difference in their lives.” With Democrats winning 54 Senate seats and two more Senate races in Alaska and Mississippi still to be called, Schumer could be poised to take over as Senate Majority Leader in the next Congress if a majority of Democratic members of the Senate vote in his favor. Hamilton has said he does not plan to support Schumer’s bid for majority leader. On Sunday, he said he “doesn’t disrespect Chuck Schumer,” but “I really don’t [want him as majority leader]”The senator-elect cited the volume of television ads during the campaign linking him to Schumer, which he said addressed the fact that “a lot of people in Kansas feel like maybe they don’t know Chuck Schumer personally, they don’t know him personally, but they know they perceive him as more to the left and as someone who is a divisive figure.” are, this is my short list.’” Hamilton added: “There are a handful of people who I think probably lead more from the center, but I don’t know enough yet to be able to say, ‘these are the people I would back.’”
