Senate Democrats face crossroads in anti-Trump strategy
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Sen. Chuck Schumer, with Sen. Patty Murray alongside him, during a news conference at the U.S. Capitol last September. Photo: Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) will consult with his caucus Tuesday before deciding whether Democrats will go scorched earth against their Republican colleagues during this year's appropriations process.
Why it matters: Top Democrats have hinted the party may not play ball with the GOP on the funding proceedings, risking a government shutdown at the end of September.
- It would be a defiant act of revenge for a minority party that's seething with anger over everything from reconciliation to rescissions.
- But Democrats have been reluctant to play the shutdown card in the past — and many are on record saying it's irresponsible.
Zoom out: This week will present an early test case for this fall's appropriations showdown.
- GOP leaders plan to bring the MilCon-VA funding bill to the floor for a vote. They'll need Democratic support to move forward and at least seven Democratic votes to break a filibuster.
- The bill passed committee 26-3, and Schumer said Monday it has "significant reversals to DOGE's horrible cuts." The Senate version of the bill is a higher spending level than the House version, a plus for Democrats.
- It's possible Democrats support a procedural vote for the measure, under the pretense they aren't guaranteed to support its passage or further appropriations bills.
Zoom in: Schumer didn't tip his hand during a speech on the Senate floor Monday. Instead, he unloaded on Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) and Republicans as being "obedient" to President Trump.
- "If Leader Thune wants to talk about bipartisanship, he should focus on keeping his side of the street clean first," Schumer said.
- Schumer last week warned Thune against pursuing additional rescission packages, saying the GOP would be risking a government shutdown.
What we're hearing: Clear hints from the White House — and outright promises from House leadership — that they are planning more rescissions are further inflaming Senate Democrats.
- Trump's Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought raised the temperature last week when he suggested the government funding process should be "less bipartisan."
- Democrats were outraged by those comments and the attitude behind them — and they put their GOP colleagues on notice.
- "My Republican colleagues should understand that Russ Vought does not respect their constitutional power over federal spending," Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), the top Democrat on the Appropriations Committee, said last week.
The bottom line: Democrats are angry with how Trump and Thune have rolled them all year.
- But to register a real protest against the GOP, they'll need to reach an internal consensus that risking a government shutdown is the form of protest they all want to embrace.
