Axios Hill Leaders

March 06, 2025
π¨ Buckle up, newsy edition tonight. 998 words, 4 minutes.
- π¨ Fierce Dem backlash
- π° Thune's risky to-do list
- π₯ Senate Dems warm to CR
β‘οΈ Situational awareness: House Speaker Mike Johnson is planning an "expeditious vote of censure" for Rep. Al Green tomorrow morning after the Texas Democrat interrupted President Trump last night. Go deeper.
1 big thing: π¨ Fierce Dem backlash

Democrats are fuming at their own leaders after last night's disruptions became a big storyline at President Trump's speech to Congress.
- "People are super pissed that we didn't get more direction from leadership," a senior House Dem told us under the condition of anonymity.
- Even before the speech, "there was definitely frustration about lack of guidance [or a] plan," said one progressive lawmaker.
Why it matters: House Democratic leaders fruitlessly pleaded with members to not make the story about themselves.
- It didn't work. Rep. Al Green (D-Texas) was ejected, and Democratic signs and T-shirts inspired more mockery than positive headlines.
- "What [Green] did was inappropriate β and he became the story, not the price of eggs," a centrist House Democrat told us.
Zoom in: Some House Democrats aren't ruling out voting tomorrow to censure Green for "breach of proper conduct."
- Reps. Jared Golden (D-Maine) and Don Davis (D-N.C.) told us they are undecided.
- But other centrists argued there's a partisan double-standard at play: "I will vote against censure because the other side was equally or more misbehaved," said Rep. Vicente Gonzalez (D-Texas).
- Green says he'll accept censure: "I did it because Medicaid is so important to my constituents," he told us in an interview today. "Let them bring their sanctions. Bring them on."
Between the lines: Rep. George Latimer (D-N.Y.) said he felt the disruptions were "inappropriate."
- He told us: "When a president β my president, your president β is speaking, we don't interrupt, we don't pull those stunts."
The bottom line: Some Democrats argued the disruptive lawmakers β primarily progressives from safe districts β failed on the messaging front.
- "My take is that the average American thought the optics were pretty bad," Golden told us.
- "Not standing for Trump would have been a fine strategy, but you need to separate him from the kid with cancer," the centrist Dem told us.
- "People could have just sat on their hands, but we ended up looking like infants when Trump is actually the toddler," another Democrat told us.
β Andrew Solender and Hans Nichols
2. π° Thune's risky to-do list

Senate Majority Leader John Thune's tricky month keeps getting trickier.
Why it matters: New debt ceiling fears, GOP holdouts and unexpected demands from Trump are piling up fast.
- π Thune was blindsided last night by Trump calling for Congress to end the CHIPs Act, which gives federal incentives to build semiconductor plants in the U.S. "There were a lot of Republicans ... who voted for it," Thune told reporters today.
- Trump said he wants border funds "without delay." That's the Senate plan, but Trump sided with the House plan instead.
- Thune told us today: Now "what we were trying to get done here, seems like what he's asking for."
Zoom in: Sens. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) and Todd Young (R-Ind.) are new skeptics of the Senate's plan to make Trump's 2017 tax cuts permanent β and cost $0.
- "It's not clear at this point at least how we might proceed on that," Thune told reporters today. "Part of it will be determined by making sure all our members are on board."
π€ The House is also pushing on the debt ceiling. House Ways and Means Chair Jason Smith (R-Mo.) warned today the ceiling may hit early if tax revenues are soft.
- The Senate wants to deal with it separately, instead of the House approach of adding it to reconciliation.
The intrigue: To add to the list, Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) is pitching a sweeping rescission package β and Elon Musk is thrilled about the idea.
- "We'll see," Thune said when asked about it. "I mean, obviously, a rescission package has to be submitted by the White House."
βΒ Stef Kight
3. π₯ Senate Dems warm to CR

Senate Democrats are indicating they won't tank a short-term government funding package, barring any eleventh-hour GOP surprises.
- Johnson, with Trump's help, is steadily building House GOP support to extend last year's spending levels through Sept. 30 without any significant policy changes.
Why it matters: A truly clean bill will make life easier for Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer.
- Schumer has been clear he wants to avoid a shutdown. Even talking about wanting one is a big no-no.
- If the GOP can get a clean CR through the House, and avoid multiple GOP defectors in the Senate, it should be doable to get enough Dems on board to reach 60 votes, multiple sources tell us.
- The GOP hasn't "engaged in discussions with us yet, either me" or House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Schumer said yesterday. "So we have to wait to see what their plan is."
The big picture: The math leaves Schumer with lots of breathing room to let other irate Democrats express their fury with Trump.
- "I don't want to see another year of them dismembering the government," Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) told us today, when asked whether he would support a stopgap package.
- "It's not something that I want to see," Sen. Andy Kim (D-N.J.) said today.
Between the lines: Schumer has told Democrats in private meetings to not angle for a shutdown, we scooped last week.
- But in those same meetings, Democrats made clear to Schumer they weren't willing to support a funding package that included DOGE cuts.
What we're watching: The heaviest lift is on Johnson and Thune, who are navigating slim majorities.
- That task looked simpler today after House Freedom Caucus members met with Trump at the White House and gave the green light.
- "We're ready to advance the ball next week," Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) said.
β Stephen Neukam and Hans Nichols
This newsletter was edited by Justin Green and copy edited by Kathie Bozanich.
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