Trump makes enemies of his most likely Democratic allies

• The souring of that bipartisan good spirit could come back to bite Trump when it comes time to fund the government and raise the debt ceiling later this year.
• That's doubly so if Democrats retake the congressional majority in 2026.
• Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-Fla.), one of a handful of Democrats in the GOP-led DOGE Caucus, said of his membership in the group: "I look forward to going to the next meeting. Whether I stay in it or not, we'll see."

What they're saying: "Trump has all but poisoned the atmosphere. He's declaring war on not only the Democratic Party but on the Constitution and government as we know it," said Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.).

• Moskowitz said Musk is "forcing" Democrats into a position of opposing the administration, telling Axios: "I don't know that the DOGE Caucus has a purpose anymore. It appears Elon ... thinks he can do this all himself."
• Rep. Jared Golden (D-Maine), one of the most centrist Democrats in Congress, praised Trump's tariffs but added that his constituents "voted for Donald Trump, not Elon Musk."
• Golden said of Musk: "If I had a staffer like that, I'd probably fire him." Asked if Musk's actions have hampered the possibility of bipartisan collaboration, Golden told Axios: "Probably, right? But we'll see."

State of play: Trump and Musk have moved quickly to try to upend the federal government by freezing federal funds, offering buyouts to government workers and trying to shutter entire agencies.

• DOGE has even tried to access the Treasury Department's payment system, which disburses most of the funds that keep federal agencies running.
• Democrats have alleged many of these DOGE-led initiatives are in violation of federal statutes, the Constitution or both.
• Inundated with infuriated outreach from their grassroots base, congressional Democrats have tried to use their limited power as the minority party to counter Trump's agenda and stage acts of resistance.

Zoom in: House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) has signaled that Democrats will try to use a March 14 deadline to fund the federal government to counter Trump's most high-profile DOGE initiatives.

• Centrist Democrats would normally be reluctant to use the threat of a government shutdown as leverage, but several signaled to Axios they are behind Jeffries on this.

• "Leader Jeffries' statement is a reminder that any final funding bill requires bipartisan compromise," said Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Texas).

Yes, but: Some Democrats continue to hold out hope that bipartisan collaboration will be possible.

• Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-N.Y.), the co-chair of the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus, said Trump "hasn't reached out to any of the Democrats yet," but added he is "not going to judge the whole thing by the first few weeks."
• Even Jeffries told Axios: "We continue to work with anyone who is sincere about getting things done for the American people."

The bottom line: That forbearance may not last forever, and some Democratic moderates are warning Trump will severely regret it down the line if he doesn't reverse course soon.

• Rep. Greg Landsman (D-Ohio) told Axios: "The list of things that would have to be true to get any bipartisan deal gets longer and longer with every crazy and reckless thing Trump and Musk do."
• Moskowitz said: "They're going to have to come to Democrats to pass stuff. What's happening now may be putting us on a path that that's going to be impossible."

Go deeper: DOGE staffer with racist social media posts resigns

Editor's note: This article has been updated with comment from Rep. Greg Landsman.