American Federation of Teachers (AFT) President Randi Weingarten is departing the Democratic National Committee, citing disagreements with DNC Chair Ken Martin.
Weingarten told Martin in a letter dated June 5 and 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 backed 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.
A source close to the DNC told The Hill they were not surprised by Weingarten’s move to step down, noting her differences with Martin.
“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 source said.
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.”
Weingarten is a powerful figure on the political left. AFT boasts roughly 1.8 million members and has significant influence on the Democratic Party and its candidates.
Her exit comes as the DNC has had to grapple with internal divisions being laid bare in recent weeks. Former DNC Vice Chair David Hogg has been vocally critical of the party’s leadership, writing in a post on X last week that the party’s leaders have been “asleep at the wheel.”
The infighting has threatened to stall the party’s efforts to rebuild seven months after Trump won a second term.
Hogg faced backlash from many Democrats including within the DNC for launching an organization that would primary incumbent House Democrats in an effort to bring about generational change within the party.
Hogg said he would not be vying for his spot as vice chair in the DNC after an overwhelming majority of DNC committee members voted to redo the vice chair elections of Hogg and Pennsylvania state Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta, who was elected again to the post on Saturday.
