Time Kaine also said he is "a big fan" of DNC leadership contenders Howard Dean and Labor Secretary Tom Perez. | Getty Kaine: Senate Dems are an 'emergency brake'

Tim Kaine returned to the Senate on Tuesday "a little sadder, a little wiser, and a lot energized," hailing his fellow Democrats as "the emergency brake" on the broad Republican control that President-elect Donald Trump will bring to Washington.

"The Democratic Senate minority is about the only emergency brake there is on the train right now," Kaine said, describing his caucus' power to filibuster legislation or Supreme Court nominees as "a power that has to be used judiciously."


The former vice presidential nominee echoed many fellow Democrats in criticizing Trump's appointment of chief strategist Steve Bannon, slamming the former Breitbart News chief for his "connection to white nationalists and anti-Semitism."

Kaine, a former Democratic National Committee chairman, also weighed in on his party's burgeoning battle over the next DNC chief. While praising Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) — who has racked up endorsements from Harry Reid and Chuck Schumer, the incoming Senate Democratic leader — Kaine also said he is "a big fan" of DNC contenders Howard Dean and Labor Secretary Tom Perez.

Having served as Virginia's governor and as party chairman in 2009, Kaine acknowledged concerns among some Democrats that the position should not go to an elected official who would have to juggle the Democratic National Committee and other responsibilities. "Doing two jobs at once was difficult," he recalled.

The famously down-to-earth Democrat also sounded a note of relief about returning to everyday life in his home state after falling short of the vice presidency.

"The entourage felt cool on occasion, but it was never me," Kaine said. "This is more me."