Teachers Union Head Randi Weingarten Resigns From DNC Citing Disagreement With Leadership

Internal disagreements within the Democratic National Committee continue to spill over…

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, according to The New York Times. 

Weingarten told Martin in a letter obtained by The Hill on Sunday that she was declining to be reappointed as an at-large member of the committee.

“While I am a proud Democrat, 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 community,” wrote Weingarten, who has served as a DNC member for 23 years.

Weingarten endorsed then-Wisconsin Democratic Party Chair Ben Wikler to serve as DNC chair during elections earlier this year. Weingarten was later removed by Martin from the DNC’s Rules and Bylaws Committee. 

The resignation comes after David Hogg declined to compete in the new Democratic National Committee (DNC) vice chair elections last week. (RELATED: David Hogg Ousted From DNC Leadership After Plan To Primary Democrats Sparks Backlash)

The infighting has threatened to stall the party’s efforts to rebuild seven months after Trump handily won a second term.

Weingarten is a powerful figure on the political left. The AFT boasts roughly 1.8 million members and has significant influence on the Democrat Party and its candidates. 

A longtime Democratic strategist criticized Weingarten’s resignation for being poorly timed, alluding to the weekend “No Kings” protests across the country with large crowds turning out to criticize President Trump’s administration.

“Especially when the country just showed up by the millions across all demographic and geographic boundaries to take on Trump grassroots style it’s flabbergasting to me that a senior DNC member, much less one as supposedly committed as Randi, would take the moment to make it all-about-her,” the strategist said. “Today, party leadership should figure out how to not just ride a wave but lead a movement, not continue with internecine persona-driven drama.”

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