Teachers’ Union President Randi Weingarten Resigns From DNC

American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten resigned from the board of the Democratic National Committee after more than 23 years, citing disagreements with new leadership.

“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 of our communities,” Weingarten wrote in her June 5 resignation letter.

Weingarten, who leads the nation’s second-largest teachers’ union, opposed DNC Chairman Ken Martin in February’s election. Upon becoming chair, Martin removed Weingarten from her longstanding position on the Rules and Bylaws Committee.

Weeks before Weingarten resigned, American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees President Lee Saunders also stepped down from the DNC. On May 27, Saunders wrote that “public service workers are facing unprecedented attacks,” a challenge which “demands unwavering focus.”

“In that spirit, and with deep respect, I must decline your nomination to the DNC,” Saunders wrote, according to The Washington Post.

Saunders further explained his decision to resign in a statement to The New York Times, saying, “We must evolve to meet the urgency of this moment. This is not a time to close ranks or turn inward.”

“This amounts to the exit of two of the highest-profile union leaders aligned with the Democratic Party,” The New York Times’ Shane Goldmacher posted on X.

The two resignations are the latest signs of internal conflict at the DNC. Two vice chairs were voted out last week, including 25-year-old activist David Hogg, whose controversial $20 million project to back younger Democratic candidates over their “out-of-touch, ineffective” incumbent seniors was supported by Weingarten.

This caused tension between Hogg and the chairman, who told the Gen Z activist he would have to leave if he wanted to continue with the project.

“If you want to challenge incumbents, you’re more than free to do that, but just not as an officer of the DNC, because our job is to be neutral arbiters,” Martin said. “We can’t be both the referee and also the player at the same time. You have to make a decision.”

In leaked video footage of a Zoom meeting, Martin told Hogg, “The other night I said to myself for the first time, ‘I don’t know if I want to do this anymore’…you essentially destroyed any chance I have to show the leadership that I need to.”

This feud led to Hogg’s removal, though the DNC claimed the vote was occasioned by a failure to adhere to gender diversity protocols in the previous election.

“I ran to be DNC Vice Chair to help make the Democratic Party better, not to defend an indefensible status quo that has caused voters in almost every demographic group to move away from us,” Hogg said.

Saunders and Weingarten aren’t the only ones souring on the Democratic Party. According to a recent CNN poll, more than half of “Democratic-aligned adults” say the party is heading “in the wrong direction.” When asked which Democratic leader best represents the values of the party, “More than 30% didn’t offer a name in response.”

“No one,” one respondent answered. “That’s the problem.”