American Federation of Teachers (AFT) President Randi Weingarten has stepped down from her position at the Democratic National Committee (DNC), citing fundamental disagreements with newly elected Chair Ken Martin. This surprising development comes after Weingarten's 23 years of service to the committee.
According to The Hill, Weingarten declined reappointment as an at-large member through a letter dated June 5. The departure marks a significant shift in Democratic Party leadership dynamics as the organization attempts to regroup following President Trump's 2024 election victory.
In her resignation letter, Weingarten expressed concerns about the direction of the party under Martin's leadership, writing: "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."
The resignation comes amid what appears to be escalating tensions between Weingarten and Martin. Sources close to the situation note that Weingarten had supported Wisconsin Democratic Party Chair Ben Wikler for the DNC chairmanship earlier this year, putting her at odds with Martin from the start.
After Martin secured the position, he removed Weingarten from the DNC's Rules and Bylaws Committee, a move widely interpreted as political retaliation. This sequence of events suggests the leadership dispute extends beyond policy disagreements into personal political maneuvering.
An unnamed source close to the DNC characterized Weingarten's departure as predictable, telling The Hill: "Ever since the horse she bet on in the Chairs race lost, she has always been on the other side of the fence as Ken -- this is no surprise."
The timing of Weingarten's announcement has drawn criticism from within Democratic circles. Her resignation became public during a weekend of nationwide "No Kings" protests targeting the Trump administration when party unity would typically be prioritized.
A longtime Democratic strategist expressed frustration with Weingarten's decision, suggesting it distracted from the party's more urgent priorities. The strategist noted that the focus should be on harnessing the energy of recent protests rather than internal squabbles.
"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.
Weingarten's exit is part of a larger pattern of public discord within the DNC. Former Vice Chair David Hogg has been openly critical of party leadership, recently claiming on social media platform X that Democratic leaders have been "asleep at the wheel."
Hogg faced significant backlash after launching an organization aimed at primarying incumbent House Democrats to facilitate generational change. The initiative proved deeply divisive, with many established Democrats viewing it as counterproductive.
The internal conflicts resulted in Hogg losing his position when DNC committee members voted to redo vice chair elections. While Pennsylvania State Representative Malcolm Kenyatta was reelected to his vice chair position on Saturday, Hogg did not pursue reinstatement.
Weingarten's departure raises questions about labor's influence within Democratic Party politics at a critical juncture. As president of the AFT, she represents approximately 1.8 million members and has been a powerful voice for education and labor interests.
The resignation of such a prominent labor leader could signal changing dynamics in the traditional alliance between organized labor and the Democratic Party. Her concerns about "enlarging the tent" suggest frustration with what she perceives as an increasingly exclusive approach to party building.
This shift comes at a particularly challenging moment for Democrats, who are attempting to rebuild after Trump's election victory. With the 2026 midterms already on the horizon, the party faces the difficult task of presenting a unified front while addressing significant internal disagreements.
