Camilleri named Senate majority leader by Democratic caucus, Hauck chosen to lead Republicans

Sen. Darrin Camilleri (D-Trenton) was named the next Senate majority leader by the Democratic caucus on Thursday afternoon. While he will not officially assume the role until voted in by the full chamber in January, his nomination by the Democrats makes that a formality.

Talking to reporters after the vote, Camilleri repeatedly said that his goal is to ensure that the upcoming legislative session is “the most productive legislative session in our lifetimes.” He later went on to say that his metric for that was having the most “meaningful” bills signed into law.

“My caucus was sent here with a mandate to lower the cost of living for our residents, to address the many problems that Michigan has not been able to address for the last two years, and get things done for working people,” he said. “We are incredibly excited at the chance for us to take on a big, bold agenda with our brand new Democratic trifecta, and be in a position to solve as many problems as we can.”

Camilleri will assume the majority leader role with a 23-15 majority in the chamber — significantly larger than the last session, where Democrats held just a single seat majority for most of the term and did not control the House, and larger than the session prior, in which Democrats had a trifecta but only a two-seat margin in the Senate.

With such a large majority in the Senate, as well as a large Democratic majority in the House, Camilleri said, “Our goal will be to make sure that we can again do big bold things in this new trifecta. I can’t again give you a list today, but I do believe that because we have returned with stronger majorities than we’ve ever really had, we’ll have a chance to do a lot more.”

A significant portion of the Democratic caucus is new to the state Senate, and many members are new to the Legislature completely. Camilleri said their wide breadth of experiences and backgrounds will help inform legislative priorities for the next two years, though some will have to get up to speed on the workings of the Legislature.

Sen. Kevin Hertel (D-St. Clair Shores), who was chosen by the Democrats as the next Majority Floor Leader, will play a role in that, Camilleri said.

“We want to make sure with this diverse caucus that everybody, everybody’s ideas are on the table, that every voice is being heard, and that we are being extremely productive,” Hertel told reporters. “That’s the role of the floor leader to make sure everything’s moving in a smooth fashion. That the caucus is getting the information that they need.”

Lt. Governor-elect and outgoing Senate Majority Leader Winnie Brinks (D-Grand Rapids) said she feels “great about the handoff” and emphasized the importance of having wide margins in both chambers of the legislature to help the executive leadership push through their agenda. 

Governor-elect Jocelyn Benson also expressed support for Camilleri’s leadership, telling reporters, “My ask of all of them was to be bold. Let’s take big swings together. Let’s transform our state. And the other thing I said was that I intend to be collaborative. I know they all have great ideas. They come here representing their communities with a vision for what they want to achieve. I want to have them achieve it.”

Republicans chose Sen. Roger Hauck (R-Mt. Pleasant) as their caucus leader. While some had speculated there might be a contentious leadership election in the minority, Hauck said his election was unanimous and that he “put that to rest.”

“Obviously, we start out in a bad situation. We only have 15 members, right, and they have 23, so they’re not going to need us as much,” he told reporters after his selection. “But I promised the majority leader and Senator Hertel that I would work with them.”

Republicans also announced their full leadership team in a press release. Sen. Thomas Albert (R-Lowell) will serve as Republican Floor Leader, Sen.-elect John Wetzel (R-Grand Haven) as Republican Whip, Sen.-elect Gina Johnsen (R-Portland) as Republican Caucus Chair, Sen. Michele Hoitenga (R-Manton) as Assistant Republican Leader, Sen.-elect Mike Murphy (R-Howell) as Assistant Republican Floor Leader, Sen.-elect Donni Steele (R-Orion Township) as Assistant Republican Whip, and Sen. Jonathan Lindsey (R-Coldwater) as Assistant Republican Caucus Chair.