A group of eight Democrats who were in a power-sharing agreement with Republicans are coming back into the fold. 

New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo has announced the Independent Democratic Conference, or IDC, will rejoin the main Democratic caucus. He said his party needs to unite against the Trump Administration, adding that legislators are "putting their personal interests aside for the greater good."

He described the national Republican agenda as a missile pointed straight at New York's economy and values. "What we are saying here today is that we have a common enemy," he said. "And the common enemy is Trump and Ryan and McConnell and defeating their agenda."

Sen. Andrea Stewart-Cousins will become the minority leader, the first African American woman to serve in the role. Sen. Jeff Klein, the head of the breakaway Independent Democratic Conference (IDC), will become her deputy.

But the Democrats still do not have a majority in the Senate. There are 63 members; a party needs 32 for a majority. There are currently 31 Republicans, plus Sen. Simcha Felder of Brooklyn, who is a Democrat but caucuses with the Republicans. "I’m only loyal to G-d, my wife, my constituents and New Yorkers. I don’t care about political parties and more and more New Yorkers feel the same way," Felder said in a statement. 

The balance could shift. There are two special elections this month, one in Westchester and the other in the Bronx. Cuomo said Democrats will work together to win those seats, as well as the elections for State Senate, Assembly, Congress and his own contested race in November.  

Cuomo has faced criticism for failing to unite the Democrats sooner. Some were especially angry the move came just days after the new state budget passed.

"If you've set your own house on fire and watched it burn for eight years, finally turning on a hose doesn't make you a hero," Cuomo's primary challenger Cynthia Nixon said in a statement. 

Mayor de Blasio said he hopes strengthening Senate Democrats will help achieve more affordable housing and a millionaires tax to fund the MTA.  But he's not holding his breath.