The Republican base is used to being disappointed by its leaders. Time and again, when the chips are down, whether it be in the Senate or the House, a small group of Republican lawmakers join with Democrats to advance “must-pass legislation” without extracting any concessions.
Over the years it has become such a regular occurrence that, in general, the Republican base assumes that its politicians will cave on tough votes, especially when it comes to funding the government and avoiding the shutdown. Omnibus bills, continuing resolutions, the lot, would pass with unified Democratic support and enough Republican support to get it over the finish line.
The Democratic base, on the other hand, had never faced such a constant betrayal from its own party leaders, that is, until now.
On Friday, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) led a group of 10 Democratic senators to join the Republican majority in advancing a continuing resolution to fund the government through the end of September. The CR, which was backed by President Donald Trump and had passed the House of Representatives with practically no Democratic support, with the party’s leaders calling the bill a blank check for Trump and Elon Musk to continue their war on the federal government.
Now Schumer was in a difficult place. He could have either supported the CR or let the government shut down. He and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) had bet the house (pun intended) on the razor-thin Republican majority in the House of Representatives failing to come together to pass a bill to fund the government.
But the gambit failed. Once Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) were able to advance the bill out of the House, any leverage that the Democrats had went by the wayside. Schumer and his colleagues could either allow the CR to overcome the 60-vote filibuster and reach Trump’s desk, or they could shut down the government, and allow Trump, Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, and Russ Vought, the director of the Office of Management and Budget to determine which parts of the government could remain open and which ones would be closed.
Schumer decided that voting for a CR loathed by his party was better than a shutdown. But the Democratic base has been itching for a fight ever since Trump took the oath of office on Jan. 20 and had never seen its leaders cave when forced to the brink on legislative negotiations. The Republicans, they thought, are the ones that will cave because they always do.
So when Trump, Johnson, and Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) stood firm and dared Schumer and the Democrats to shut down the government, the Democratic leader blinked.
The backlash from the Democratic base has been swift and total. Schumer’s counterparts in the House have been apoplectic. Jeffries pointedly refused to answer questions about whether or not he believed Schumer should continue to lead the Democratic Caucus in the Senate. Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) did not name Schumer but said that Democratic senators should “listen to the women” in the House and Senate who had led the party’s opposition to the CR.
DEMOCRATIC PARTY SHATTERS OVER TRUMP-BACKED BILL TO AVERT GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN
Demands for Schumer to lose his position as the Senate leader of the Democrats reached such a fever pitch that it included calls that he face a primary challenge from Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez (D-NY). When you’re used to Republicans caving, it’s a major shock to the system to see the Democrats cave for a change.
Meanwhile, for Trump and the Republican majority in Congress, the winning is only just getting started.