(CNN)Chuck Schumer arrived for his first day as Senate Democratic leader to a large, new Capitol suite still strewn with unpacked boxes.
"It's a little fancier than I'm used to, but it goes with the territory," Schumer told us, as he sat down for his maiden television interview as the Senate's top Democrat.
Schumer was hoping to be the new Democratic Senate majority leader, working with Hillary Clinton in the White House. Instead, he is leading the Trump opposition. The former would have been more fun, he conceded, but he says being minority leader now is "more important."
Here's how he described a recent phone conversation with Donald Trump: "I said, 'Mr. President-elect, you went after both the Democratic and Republican establishments when you ran; you were an anti-establishment change candidate. But by your Cabinet picks and your early pronouncements, you seem to be embracing your timeworn, shop-worn hard right,'" he recalled.