Dems launch pressure campaign to sink Trump's budget bill
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Rep. Mike Lawler leaving the Capitol Hill Club in Washington, D.C., on April 29. Photo: Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images
Democrats aim to pressure just enough House Republicans to defect from their party to block President Trump's massive fiscal package, Axios has learned.
Why it matters: The party has been painting with a broad brush, hoping to pick off as many GOP lawmakers as possible. But with a potential House vote coming into view, they're taking a more tailored approach.
- The party has been hosting dozens what they call "People's Town Halls" — Democrat-led town hall meetings with voters in in Republican districts.
- They've also needled a larger group of House Republicans who took their campaign arm's advice to avoid in-person town halls.
Driving the news: The Democratic National Committee is launching a new organizing program aimed at recruiting and training volunteers in Republican districts to pressure their House members to oppose the GOP bill.
- The four lawmakers being targeted by the campaign: Reps. Tom Barrett (R-Mich.), Don Bacon (R-Neb.), Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.) and Brian Fitzpatrick (R-Pa.).
- Bacon, Lawler and Fitzpatrick are the only three House Republicans in districts Kamala Harris won last year, while Barrett is one of a handful of House Republicans who flipped a Democrat-held seat.
- The program, in coordination with the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, will involve holding a new round of People's Town Halls in the lawmakers' districts.
Between the lines: Republican leadership is performing a careful balancing act as they try to placate their right flank without alienating moderates and those in swing districts.
- At least a dozen House Republicans have raised concerns about cutting too deeply into Medicaid benefits, which they fear would backfire in their districts.
- Some Republicans have also grumbled about proposals to pare down nutrition assistance benefits and repeal Inflation Reduction Act tax credits.
What they're saying: "The DNC is launching its first-ever distributed organizing program to offer voters a platform to join Democrats in taking direct action — from hosting town halls to mobilizing their personal networks — against the GOP's budget," said DNC chair Ken Martin.
The other side: "All national Democrats have are pathetic lies and fear-mongering tactics to distract from their failures," said National Republican Congressional Committee spokesperson Mike Marinella.
- "Americans know they're full of crap, and voters aren't going to buy their latest publicity stunt," Marinella said, citing the NRCC's successful attempt to get Democratic billboards attacking Republicans on Medicaid taken down.
