WASHINGTON — U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) released the following statement after being unanimously re-elected as the Senate's second-highest ranking Democrat, the Senate Democratic Whip, for the 117th Congress by his Senate Democratic colleagues this morning. Durbin has served in the number two role in the caucus since 2005.
“I am honored to serve the Senate Democratic Caucus as Whip. The November 3 election showed that our nation is divided, and the challenges we face are great. But under the leadership of President-elect Biden and Vice President-elect Harris, we can, and must, come together to meet those challenges.”
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Only five other Illinoisans have served as leaders for their parties in the Senate. Shelby Moore Cullom served as Republican Conference Chairman from 1911-1913; J. Hamilton Lewis became the first Democratic Whip of the Senate in 1913, and was again elected Whip in 1931; Scott W. Lucas served as Democratic Whip from 1947 to 1949 and Majority Leader from 1949 to 1951; Everett McKinley Dirksen was elected Republican Whip in 1957 and Minority Leader in 1959, a position he held for ten years; and Alan Dixon served as Chief Deputy Whip from November 1988-January 1993, the chamber’s third-ranking Democrat.
