Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries talk strategy at Brooklyn breakfast

Sen. Chuck Schumer and Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, the most powerful Democrats in each chamber of Congress, met over eggs and yogurt in their native Brooklyn on Tuesday to discuss their plans to court moderate Republicans in the newly divided federal government.

“It’s both our hope and belief that there are a lot of Republicans who are not MAGA Republicans,” Schumer said by phone after breakfast at the Junior’s Restaurant in downtown Brooklyn. “The mainstream Republicans know that if they follow the MAGA Republicans, it’s like following Thelma and Louise over a cliff.”

Schumer, the Senate majority leader, said the pair of powerful Brooklynites expect centrist Republicans in the narrowly divided House will work with the Democratic minority “to get things done.”

Jeffries, the House minority leader, spent five days this month watching renegade far-right Republicans derail Rep. Kevin McCarthy’s efforts to become Speaker before the Californian finally brokered a deal with the rebels.

The contours of McCarthy’s concessions to ultraconservative members have remained a mystery and have been the subject of extensive speculation. Jeffries has expressed concern that the Republican House caucus may be held hostage by its most conservative members.

Schumer has struggled at times to win over moderate Democrats like Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia while holding a paper-thin Senate majority the last two years.

But he managed to secure a string of legislative victories last summer, including America’s largest climate change law in history and the country’s most significant gun control law in 30 years.

Schumer said he noted — and Jeffries seconded — that six of the seven major bills passed last year were bipartisan legislative accomplishments.

“We can get a lot done bipartisan,” Schumer said after the breakfast, predicting that McCarthy would face pressure to move “more to the middle” from within the GOP caucus.

Republicans emerged from the midterm elections with a flimsy five-seat majority in the House. That thin margin made McCarthy’s path to the speakership more difficult. It may also force the new speaker to reach out to Democrats to escape the control of his far-right tormentors.

But it remains an open question how McCarthy will lead, or how the unruly Republican conference will settle ongoing internal squabbles.

The new Congress could face a major test soon: Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has warned that the U.S. is on track to hit its borrowing limit Thursday, and the two parties may be hurtling toward an epic showdown over the lifting of the federal debt ceiling.

“We are going to need some reasonable, common-sense Republicans to step forward and govern with us,” Jeffries told reporters after breakfast.

The late morning meal at one of Schumer’s favorite restaurants lasted about an hour. The 72-year-old senator ate a lox, eggs and onion sandwich, while the 52-year-old congressman had a yogurt parfait and turkey bacon.

Schumer left with a slice of cheesecake, said his spokesman Angelo Roefaro.

Jeffries’ ascent to the leadership of the House Democrats came after Rep. Nancy Pelosi decided to return to the backbenches. And his rise has concentrated remarkable political power in New York.

Schumer said he expects to speak with Jeffries three to four times daily, the same amount he connected with Pelosi, a California Democrat.

“I know his cell number by heart already,” said Schumer, who uses a cherished, clunky flip phone.

Schumer, of Park Slope, and Jeffries, of Prospect Heights, live less than a mile away from each other. Schumer said the pair began their breakfast by discussing their shared Brooklyn roots.

“You learn in Brooklyn: When someone insults you, don’t waste your time just going back at them,” Schumer said. “Go forward. Get things done.”