Randi Weingarten, Lee Saunders quit DNC in latest blow to Dem Party leadership

Fox News

5 hours ago

Two top union leaders have departed the Democratic National Committee (DNC), escalating an internal conflict about the future of the party that was stirred up by former vice chair David Hogg.
Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, and Lee Saunders, president of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, declined offers to stay on as at-large members of the DNC, as first reported by The New York Times.
"I appear to be out of step with the leadership you are forging, and I do not want to be the one who keeps questioning why we are not enlarging our tent and actively trying to engage more and more of our communities," Weingarten, the education leader and longtime voice in Democratic politics, said in a letter to Chair Ken Martin which is now circulating on social media.
The union labor leaders' departure is the latest blow to Martin, who just last week put his Hogg problem behind him.
Hogg, the 25-year-old progressive firebrand, announced last week he would not seek re-election for vice chair after sparking internal rifts with his $20 million plan to primary challenge older incumbent Democrats he said are "asleep at the wheel" through his outside political action group, Leaders We Deserve.
"There is a huge vacuum of leadership in the Democratic Party and Ken is proving to be a weak, ineffective leader who isn't ready for any of this," a former DNC official, who asked for anonymity to speak more freely, told Fox News Digital.
A DNC committee member, who was also granted anonymity, told Fox News Digital it was "not surprising" the union leaders decided to step down from the DNC, "given they both supported another candidate."
Both Weingarten and Saunders supported Martin's competitor in the race for DNC chair, Wisconsin Democratic Party Chair Ben Wikler. As chair, Martin later removed Weingarten from the DNC's Rules and Bylaws Committee, which is the group responsible for drafting the Democratic Party's presidential nominating calendar and election process.
The committee member said Weingarten and Saunders "are both incredible leaders" with the country's best interests in mind, and they are "confident we will all come together and focus and continue beating Republicans."
"I have no doubt both of them, and the labor unions, will move forward and work together with the Chairman, and every other Democrat who is, first and foremost, focused on beating Donald Trump and the existential threat that he and Republicans pose to Americans' lives and livelihoods and our democracy," they added.
Another source close to the DNC also pointed to Weingarten's support for Wikler in a statement to Fox News Digital: "Ever since the horse she bet on in the Chairs race lost, she has always been on the other side of the fence as Ken — this is no surprise."
Weingarten was also among those in the party who supported Hogg's controversial plan to primary incumbent older Democrats in safe blue districts.
Hogg's decision to leave the DNC followed a damning Politico report, which included leaked audio from a Zoom meeting of Martin lamenting over Hogg's fallout at the DNC, claiming it had made it harder for Democrats to do their jobs and for Martin to demonstrate his ability to lead.
"I don't think you intended this, but you essentially destroyed any chance I have to show the leadership that I need to. So, it's really frustrating," Martin said.
Martin affirmed the DNC would stay neutral in Democratic primaries after Hogg's $20 million primary pledge. The DNC chair gave Hogg the ultimatum to either rescind his vice chair position or forego his political influence through his PAC.
However, that did not stop Hogg from defying advice and wading into additional Democratic primaries by endorsing Virginia state Del. Irene Shin in the special election to replace the late Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va.
Members voted Wednesday to uphold the Credentials Committee's resolution proposed by longtime Democratic Party activist, Kalyn Free, to host a re-election for two vice chair positions, which were held by Hogg and DNC Vice Chair Malcolm Kenyatta.
Martin commended Hogg's decision Wednesday, thanking him for "his years of activism, organizing, and fighting for his generation," as the Democratic Party seemed prepared to leave their Hogg drama in the dust.
The union leaders' departure is the latest public infighting to plague the Democratic Party in the aftermath of losing the White House and Congress in 2024.
Weingarten and Saunders did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.