Klobuchar, Franken still hope to flex some muscle in Senate

They are now squarely in the minority, but Minnesota U.S. Sens. Amy Klobuchar and Al Franken could still wield significant power as Democrats push back against Republican proposals the next few years.

Even though Republicans control the House and Senate and are hours away from taking over the White House, the GOP's 52-member Senate majority is thin enough that Republicans will still need help from Democrats to get 60 votes to break filibusters and actually pass laws, said Klobuchar.

"I think the Senate is the place to be right now," she said, adding that Senate Democrats can act as an "emergency brake" on controversial policy.

Klobuchar and Al Franken have big concerns about the new president, especially his calls to dismantle the Affordable Care Act. But both also see some big opportunities.

"Do I like a lot of his pronouncements? No, I think they are divisive," Klobuchar said. "But if there is a place to find common ground, we're not going to walk away from that."

Franken and Klobuchar have long called for a law change that would allow the government to negotiate drug prices for people on Medicare. Trump has suggested he supports the idea.

And if Trump is really concerned about the cost of prescription drugs, she added, he could support the importation of drugs from Canada, where they're much less expensive, as well as help speed up the availability of generic drugs.

"And I hope it's not just all talk and no action, because we have to take action. Four out of the top 10 drugs, the prices have gone up over 100 percent in just the last few years, insulin three times," she said.

The two senators say they are also interested in big infrastructure investments depending on exactly what Trump ends up proposing.

Although Republicans refused to hold confirmation hearings for President Obama's pick to fill a vacancy on the Supreme Court, Klobuchar and Franken say they welcome a chance to vet the Supreme Court nominee Trump has said he will soon put forward.

Franken said he'll seek areas where he can work with Trump, but he has already been a critic of some Trump Cabinet nominees, calling them out in high-profile hearings for misrepresenting themselves and also questioning their qualifications.

He accused attorney general nominee and Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions of exaggerating his civil rights record. In another hearing, he questioned whether education secretary nominee Betsy DeVos understood a basic education concept, growth versus proficiency when it comes measuring school success.

Franken said he will not vote to confirm DeVos, adding that "she doesn't really seem to know much about education."

Last week he and Klobuchar announced they would not vote for Sessions. But with Democrats in the minority they are not in a position to block Trump's cabinet nominees.

And the Senate might not be the "emergency brake" Klobuchar, Franken and other Democrats hope it will be, said Jennifer Duffy, senior editor of the Cook Political Report.

Duffy noted that 25 Senate Democrats are up for re-election next year, 10 from states that Trump won. That means they might be more concerned about their own re-elections than standing united to block Trump and the Republican agenda.

"That core group of 10 Democrats," said Duffy, "their votes are going to be up for grabs, frankly, on some things."