Bernie Sanders stands at the fringe no more. The quirky independent from Vermont, once seen as more likely to lead a protest than pass a law, was at center stage early Wednesday when the Senate approved a historic $3.5 trillion budget blueprint. If congressional Democrats can hold together – and that is no small "if" – Sanders will have been one of the key architects of the biggest expansion of America's social safety net since FDR. He sounds just a little surprised about that journey himself. 👉 Swipe through for a few highlights from our interview with the senator.