Bernard "Bernie" Sanders (born September 8, 1941) is an American politician, serving as the junior United States Senator from Vermont since 2007. Sanders is the longest-serving independent in U.S. congressional history. He has always caucused with the Democratic Party, which has entitled him to committee assignments and at times given Democrats a majority. Sanders became the ranking minority member on the Senate Budget Committee in January 2015; he had previously served for two years as chair of the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee. He publicly identified as a Democrat during his campaign for the party's 2016 Presidential nomination, but has announced he will return to the Senate as an independent.[3] A self-described democratic socialist, Sanders is pro-labor and emphasizes reversing economic inequality.[4][5] Many scholars consider his views to be more in line with social democracy and New Deal-style American progressivism than democratic socialism. Subscribe : / @white-house4781