Sen. Charles Schumer became New York's first Senate majority leader on Wednesday following the inauguration of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.

His ascension to the top spot comes after Democrats won Georgia's two Senate seats in a runoff election earlier this month.

The closely watched victories of Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock in Georgia secured the Democratic majority with the chamber split 50-50 along party lines. Vice President Harris is in the position to cast the tie-breaking vote.

Democrat Alex Padilla is assuming the Senate seat that Harris resigned on Monday. And after the three newly-elected senators were sworn in on Wednesday afternoon, Schumer officially became majority leader.

“With the swearing in of these three senators, the senate will turn to Democratic control under the first New York-born majority leader in American history, a kid from Brooklyn, the son of an exterminator and a housewife, a descendant of victims of the holocaust,” he said at the swearing-in ceremony for the newly elected senators. Schumer is the first Jewish person to hold the position.

Schumer has been in American politics his entire adult life. He was elected to the House of Representatives in 1980 and to the Senate in 1998. 

He’s known as a hands-on leader who visits each of New York’s 62 counties every year and holds Sunday press conferences throughout the state. 

“As the majority changes in the Senate, the Senate will do business differently,” he said. “The senate will address the challenges our country faces head-on and without delay. Not with timid solutions, but with boldness and with courage.”

With Schumer serving as Senate majority leader, the state will likely reap benefits following the long-standing bipartisan tradition of majority leaders helping their home states. Schumer already has a history of pulling in large amounts of money for New York.

Having him in this role could have a huge impact on the state, which is currently facing a $15 billion budget deficit after the devastating impact of COVID-19.