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A coalition of labor unions, political action, and community groups march against DOGE and proposed cuts to Medicaid, housing, food assistance, and other vital programs in New York, New York, on March 15, 2025. Some expressed their outrage with Senator Chuck Schumer for voting to advance the Republican funding bill.
Democrats vs. Democrats
Senate Democrats unleashed a storm last week when Schumer and nine other Democrats voted in favor of a Republican-authored funding bill. To vote no, Schumer argued, would be to risk a shutdown of the federal government, a move President Donald Trump and advisor Elon Musk might use to further slash the federal bureaucracy.
House Democrats and others were furious with Schumer’s decision. They have argued that the Republican need for Democratic votes to pass the bill gave Democrats rare legislative leverage over Republicans and a chance to strike a blow at Trump. By refusing to stand up to the president and his party when given the chance, they’re leaving the public without a positive reason to vote for Democrats.
More immediately, Congress will replay this drama in September when the next funding bill comes to the floor. Now that Schumer has set a precedent by caving to pressure, critics within his party ask, what’s to prevent Republicans from offering a bill that Democrats find even more toxic than the one that passed last week, with confidence that that bill will pass too?
A new poll finds that Democratic-aligned adults say, by a margin of 52% to 48%, that the leadership of the Democratic Party is currently taking the party in the wrong direction. There isn’t yet a groundswell within the party that favors replacing Schumer as Senate minority leader, but that moment may be coming.Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., talks with reporters in Russell building after a senate vote on Wednesday, February 19, 2025.
Dems vs GOP: Who Blinks?
House Speaker Mike Johnson is expected to pass a budget bill with only Republican support on Wednesday, sending Senate Democrats an imminent predicament: Either approve a spending bill created solely by the GOP or trigger a shutdown standoff – a strategy they have consistently criticized in the past.
Republicans need at least eight Democratic votes, assuming no additional GOP lawmakers join Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, who has committed to voting against the bill.
Democrats in the House have vowed to oppose the bill unless it includes language mandating that the Trump administration can’t cut the funds they allocate, and favor their alternative bill extending funding at current levels for four weeks instead – giving lawmakers time to craft a bipartisan funding package. However, a few Dems in the Senate may be willing to side with Republicans. Democratic Sen. John Fetterman,for example, has already committed to backing the bill.
The bill would extend government funding at current levels for seven months while adding $6 billion for defense funding and cutting $13 billion from nondefense spending. While that means some nondefense programs will be cut, it’s not expected to touch Medicaid or Social Security, or to be used as a means for Congress to hop on the DOGE train and start drastically downsizing the government. Those larger budget battles aren’t likely until the fall, when Congress needs to set a budget for next year.
President Donald Trump addresses a joint session of Congress at the U.S. Capitol on March 04, 2025. Vice President JD Vance and Speaker of the House Mike Johnson applaud behind him.
Trump lays out a bold vision for second term
Trump began by focusing on culture war issues, including the elimination of DEI programs and a ban on transgender athletes in competition. He tied these topics to the Department of Government Efficiency’s mission to reduce government waste, listing what he called “woke” programs that had been defunded. He also emphasized his administration’s success in strengthening US border security and immigration enforcement, pointing to a 25-year low in border crossings during his first month in office and the passage of multiple immigration bills through Congress.
Trump blamed the country’s economic struggles — such as high grocery prices and egg shortages — on Joe Biden’s administration. As for his approach, Trump touted populist economic policies, including eliminating taxes on tips, overtime pay, Social Security benefits, and car payments for US-made vehicles. He also urged Congress to extend his 2017 tax cuts and assured that DOGE initiatives would save taxpayers money.
Trump’s speech notably came amid market turmoil following his newly imposed tariffs on Canada, Mexico, and China. On Monday, the S&P 500 dropped 1.2%, wiping out its gains since Election Day, while the Nasdaq declined 0.4%. Trump announced additional reciprocal tariffs set to take effect on April 2, acknowledging they could cause short-term economic pain and urging American farmers to “bear with me.” During his first term, Trump secured tariff relief from China for the agriculture industry ahead of the midterms.
On Ukraine, Trump spoke at length about brokering a peace deal, reading a letter from President Volodymyr Zelensky stating that Ukraine was ready to negotiate and commit to a minerals agreement. He criticized Europe for spending more on Russian gas than on Ukraine’s defense and emphasized the importance of engaging both sides in diplomacy. “If you want to end wars, you have to talk to both sides,” he said.
Trump also argued that the US needed Greenland for “international world security.” He extended an open invitation, saying Greenland would be welcomed into the US “if you choose,” before adding moments later, “I think we’re going to get it one way or the other.”
What about the Democrats? Partisan tensions flared from the start of the speech. Still, Democratic boos were quickly subdued when Rep. Al Green from Texas was removed from the chamber after repeatedly shouting, “You have no mandate to cut Medicaid!” at the president. Democratic protests then became more restrained. Many members silently expressed their opposition through their attire — women dressed in pink, while men wore blue and yellow ties in support of Ukraine. Later, a handful of members walked out, revealing black t-shirts emblazoned with the word “RESIST.”
Following Trump’s speech, Democrats made their appeal to the American people. Michigan Sen. Elissa Slotkin called for a return to bipartisanship and outlined key policy priorities, including lowering costs, strengthening national security – both at the border and abroad – and defending American democracy. She criticized Trump for prioritizing billionaires and for abandoning US allies in favor of autocrats.
Slotkin’s speech was concise, though likely delivered after many Americans had already turned off their televisions. Still, it marked the first time Democrats had formally outlined a party platform since losing the White House and both chambers of Congress in November.
US Attorney Pamela Jo Bondi speaks before the Senate Judiciary Committee during the nomination hearing for US Attorney General in Washington DC, USA, on January 15, 2025, at Hart Senate/Capitol Hill.
Trump Cabinet hearings ramp up, and so do concerns
On Monday, Donald Trump will be inaugurated as the first president to serve two nonconsecutive terms since Grover Cleveland over a century ago. As he heads back to the White House, his controversial Cabinet nominees face hearings in the Senate, while concerns about the weaponization of government institutions loom.
The first tranche of Trump nominees — including scandal-struckPete Hegseth forsecretary of defense, Pam Bondi for attorney general, Marco Rubio for secretary of state, Scott Bessent for treasury secretary, and John Ratcliffe for CIA director — all appear to stand a strong chance of confirmation. Trump’s pick for director of national intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, and FBI director, Kash Patel, however, may face longer odds.
Patel has vowed to go after “government gangsters” — so-called enemies within the state — raising questions as to whether he would use the FBI to target Trump’s political opponents. At her hearing, Bondi said she would not create an “enemies list” to prosecute, but she defended Patel, calling him “the right person at this time for this job.” Nonetheless, she told the Senate Judiciary Committee she would “not target people simply because of their political affiliation.”
Gabbard, who has talked about a “slow-rolling coup” by government insiders against US democracy, has also raised concerns. As she plans to remake the US intelligence machine, she faces accusations of parroting Kremlin propaganda — an accusation that experts say could make Western intelligence agencies uncomfortable, to say the least.
Neither Patel nor Gabbard have had hearings scheduled yet. We’ll be watching when they’re ready for their close-ups.House Speaker Mike Johnson speaks to the media following the passage of spending legislation to avert a government shutdown, on Capitol Hill, in Washington, on Dec. 20, 2024.
US averts shutdown but offers preview of Trump 2.0
US lawmakers early Saturday struck an 11th-hour deal to avert a government shutdown. On Friday, the House voted overwhelmingly to pass a stopgap spending bill after a week of chaos on Capitol Hill in which President-elect Donald Trump and Elon Musk intervened to scuttle two earlier bipartisan bills. The Senate followed suit shortly after midnight.
The final measure passed on Friday funds the government through March, includes $10 billion in economic assistance for farmers, and earmarks $100 billion in fresh disaster relief funds. It doesn’t include Trump’s demand to suspend the debt ceiling, which limits how much the federal government can borrow.
Three things are immediately clear from this week:
First, Elon Musk has real government power even without a real government position. Musk’s extensive criticisms of the initial bill’s length and contents, some of which included false or misleading claims, shaped the politics immediately, sinking the first version of the spending bill. Musk does not hold an elected or even an official post, but with his 208 million followers on X, which he owns, he hardly needs to.
Trump’s grip on the GOP is hardly complete. The president-elect could not force his party to accept the idea of scrapping the debt ceiling, which would have given him substantially more spending room during his first two years in office. Instead, lawmakers pledged to take up the issue separately once he is in office.
This week was a preview. With a bold and controversial Trump policy agenda, a slim House GOP majority, and another hugely influential risk cook in the kitchen, the past few days offer a window into what legislating may often look like beginning in January. Buckle up.Representatives on Capitol Hill spent all day Thursday scrambling to cobble together a deal to keep the government open, after pressure from President-elect Donald Trump sank must-pass legislation on Wednesday.
Trump hurls Congress headlong toward a government shutdown
Representatives on Capitol Hill spent all day Thursday scrambling to cobble together a deal to keep the government open, after pressure from President-elect Donald Trump and his billionaire ally Elon Musk sank must-pass legislation on Wednesday.
If lawmakers can’t agree and pass a continuing resolution — legalese for kicking the financial can down the road — by the end of the day on Friday, the government will shut down. Late on Thursday, Republicans presented a deal that Trump called a “SUCCESS,” while House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) called it “laughable” and insisted the caucus would not support anything but the originally negotiated plan.
While the new plan would fund federal agencies through March 14, and preserve provisions for disaster relief and farm aid, it also gives Trump a major concession. The bill would suspend America’s debt ceiling from Jan. 1, 2025, to Jan. 30, 2027, giving the president a break through his first round of midterm elections. Without Democratic votes, Republicans don’t have the numbers to pass the bill.
If the deal falls through, millions of Americans will see their government benefits halted, the military will work without pay, and much of the federal government will be furloughed just ahead of the Christmas and Hanukkah holidays.
We’re watching how Congress hammers its way out of this dilemma, but longer term, we have our eye on the influence of Musk, whose social media rampage — over 150 posts starting before dawn on Wednesday — kicked off this maelstrom.
Former Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., withdrew his bid to become attroney general on Nov. 21 over continuing allegations of sexual impropriety. President-elect Donald Trump appointed him on Nov. 13, 2024.
Gaetz becomes first Trump nominee to crash out
Matt Gaetz announced Thursday that after meeting with senators, he would not go through with the nomination process to become Donald Trump’s attorney general, claiming he did not wish to be a “distraction.” In other words, at least four GOP senators couldn’t approve a man in the midst of a federal sex-trafficking investigation and accused of sex with a minor to lead the Justice Department. Gaetz’s nomination lasted just 0.8 Scaramuccis.
Trump on Thursday swiftly announced a new pick for attorney general after Gaetz stepped aside, tapping former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi to be the nation's top law enforcement official. Bondi is a Trump loyalist who was part of his defense team during his first impeachment trial.
What happens to Gaetz now? He resigned from his congressional seat last week, in part to prevent an ethics report on his alleged sex crimes from reaching the light of day. That doesn’t mean Washington has seen the last of him, however, as he merely indicated he did not intend to take his oath of office for the next session of Congress. He still may be within his rights to show up and take his seat if he wishes … though that ethics report could come back into play.
Gaetz isn’t the only Trump nominee with troubling sexual allegations. Fox News host Pete Hesgeth, tapped to lead the Defense Department, is under fire over a 2017 incident in Monterey, California, in which he allegedly physically blocked a woman from leaving his hotel room, took her phone away, and raped her. Hesgeth was not charged with a crime and claims the encounter was consensual, but he entered into a settlement agreement with his accuser that included an undisclosed monetary payment. We’re watching to see if it knocks his nomination off course.Republican candidate for US Senate Bernie Moreno celebrates his victory over Sherrod Brown at his election night party at the La Centre Conference & Banquet Facility in Westlake, Ohio, a Cleveland suburb, on November 5, 2024.
Republicans regain control of the Senate, and could go on to take it all
Republicans retook control of the Senate on Tuesday night, with crucial victories in West Virginia and Ohio giving the GOP at least 51 seats in the upper chamber.
Republican Jim Justice was projected to win in West Virginia, snatching an open seat that was vacated by Sen. Joe Manchin, who was a Democrat before becoming an independent. In Ohio, Republican Bernie Moreno was projected to win against incumbent Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown.
The GOP needed just two seats to flip the Senate, and could still increase their majority with results still coming in from other competitive states: Arizona, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.
That said, there are not enough open seats for the GOP to reach the 60-vote threshold that is necessary to advance most legislation, meaning they’ll still have to work with Democrats on most initiatives.
Meanwhile, control of the House remains up in the air. Out of 435 seats up for grabs, Republicans have won 198 so far, while Democrats have won 180. It could take days or weeks to get the full results.