Senate Democrats have a chance to show their voters they can effectively stymie President Donald Trump as Republicans work to advance spending bills and a flurry of nominations.
But publicly and behind closed doors, the Democratic Party is grappling with whether to resist or — in Minority Whip Dick Durbin’s words — seek a “quid pro quo.”
Inside Democrats’ lunch Wednesday, senators talked through potential September strategies. Among the ideas they are floating is securing policy wins, like preserving soon-to-expire Affordable Care Act tax credits, or getting a commitment from Republicans not to pursue more rescissions.
Sen. Cory Booker’s (D-N.J.) fiery protest on Tuesday, urging his party to “have a backbone” in dealing with Trump, could preview the potential progressive backlash if they cut a deal. Some Democrats, like Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, are questioning why they should agree to help the administration fast-track filling its ranks at all, though plenty of other Democrats would disagree.
The party is pushing back at Trump in smaller ways as it tries to reach consensus. Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Homeland Security Democrats invoked a little-known law this week trying to force the release of files related to late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein — an issue Republican leadership has avoided putting on the floor.
The immediate stakes of Democrats’ strategy are limited to the fate of their August recess for the moment. But how they move now could set the stage for the bigger looming test: averting a Sept. 30 government shutdown. They don’t want a repeat of the spring showdown where Schumer infuriated Democratic activists by helping to advance a GOP-written funding bill.
“The Republicans can roll us once, but we sure as hell shouldn’t let them roll us a second time,” Warren said in a brief interview.
What else we’re watching:
— Stock trading ban bills face heat: Speaker Mike Johnson has been privately pushing back on an effort from Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) to force a vote on a bill banning stock trading for members of Congress, according to three people granted anonymity to discuss the effort. Meanwhile on the Senate side, Trump is attempting to quash a similar effort from Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.).
— Jeffries in Texas: Hakeem Jeffries plans to hold a news conference in Texas with Democrats in the Texas House delegation at 11 a.m. after state Republicans unveiled a new proposed congressional map that would provide their party with five new GOP-leaning districts.
— TSA bill updates: A bill to put guardrails on TSA’s facial recognition program will likely be back on the menu soon after it was unexpectedly dropped from the agenda during a Senate Commerce markup Wednesday, according to Nevada Democrat Jacky Rosen. “We expect it to come up on the next markup,” said Rosen.
Jordain Carney contributed to this report.
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