The Democrats do not have the majority in the House or Senate. They do not hold the executive office, and the Supreme Court has a MAGA majority too. The only thing left in the Democratic Party’s toolkit is forcing the Republicans to do their jobs, forcing the Republicans to get in line and vote for Donald Trump’s unhinged agenda, and forcing the Republicans into disarray. It was one thing for Democrats to partially capitulate to Congressional Republicans when Joe Biden was president – and I would argue that Speaker Johnson did most of the capitulating – because that was to ensure that a government led by President Biden would be able to function. But right now? With Elon Musk and Donald Trump destroying the government and the country? Yeah, the math isn’t mathing.

What happened: this week, Congress has been fighting over funding the government. House Democrats held the line, refusing to vote for a continuing resolution, a stopgap funding measure, and forcing Speaker Johnson to whip the votes in the House Republican caucus. Then House Democrats got knifed in the back by Senate Democrats. One Democrat in particular, Chuck Schumer.

House Democrats erupted into apoplexy Thursday night after Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said he would support Republicans’ stopgap government funding measure. House Democrats feel like they “walked the plank,” in the words of one member. They voted almost unanimously against the measure, only to watch Senate Democrats seemingly give it the green light.

“Complete meltdown. Complete and utter meltdown on all text chains,” said the member, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to offer sensitive details of members’ internal conversations. A senior House Democrat said “people are furious” and that some rank-and-file members have floated the idea of angrily marching onto the Senate floor in protest. Others are talking openly about supporting primary challenges to senators who vote for the GOP spending bill.

Schumer said in a floor speech Thursday that while the GOP measure is “very bad,” the possibility of a government shutdown “has consequences for America that are much, much worse. A shutdown would give Donald Trump the keys to the city, the state and the country,” Schumer said.

The comments likely clear a path for at least eight Senate Democrats to vote for the bill — enough for Republicans to overcome the upper chamber’s 60-vote filibuster threshold.

All but one House Democrat voted against the bill earlier this week, in large part because it lacks language to keep the Trump administration from cutting congressionally approved spending. “There were many battleground Dems in the House … that were uncomfortable, semi-uncomfortable, with the vote,” said one House Democrat. “The Senate left the House at the altar.”

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), in remarks to his House colleagues at their annual retreat Thursday, lauded them for standing up to President Trump by voting against the bill, according to multiple sources. When he praised House Democrats’ votes, he received a standing ovation. When he mentioned Senate Democrats, members booed.

What we’re hearing: House Democrats’ text chains lit up Thursday night with expressions of blinding anger, according to numerous lawmakers who described the conversations on the condition of anonymity. “People are PISSED,” one House Democrat told Axios in a text message. Several members — including moderates — have begun voicing support for a primary challenge to Schumer, floating Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and Dan Goldman (D-N.Y.) as possible candidates, three House Democrats said. One lawmaker even vowed at the House Democratic retreat to “write a check tonight” supporting Ocasio-Cortez, said the senior House Democrat.

Another Democrat told Axios the ideation has gone a step further: “There is definitely a primary recruitment effort happening right now … not just Schumer, but for everyone who votes no.”

Plenty of members have also gone public with their dismay at their Senate colleagues. “I know I speak for so many in our caucus when I say Schumer is misreading this moment. The Senate Dems must show strength and grit by voting no,” said Rep. Becca Balint (D-Vt.). Said Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.): “I don’t know where Schumer is coming from. … It doesn’t look good for the leader.”

[From Axios]

What gets me is… how are Dems in the House and Senate not working together on this, how did they not come up with a plan TOGETHER? The House Dems played it correctly – force the Republicans to get the votes in their own caucus. That should have been Schumer’s response too, after all, the Dems are the minority in the Senate as well. Moscow Mitch is the one who should have been negotiating with Schumer and Senate Dems to get it through. Schumer’s argument is that Democrats would be blamed if thousands of federal employees are furloughed – but once again, that’s why you remind everyone that the Republicans have absolute power now.

Photos courtesy of Cover Images.