Divided Democrats Give Away Their Leverage As Trump Gloats

"We become irrelevant if we don't use our power on cloture to demand that we have a seat at the table," one Senate Democrat said.

WASHINGTON ― In capitulating to Republicans on their partisan bill funding the government, Democrats may have put their party in an even worse position during the next round of negotiations on spending that is expected later this year.

With the GOP controlling both chambers of Congress and the White House, Democrats have precious little leverage to push back against President Donald Trump and billionaire Elon Musk’s efforts to demolish federal agencies and shut off spending on government programs without congressional approval.

Their biggest tool is denying Republicans the 60 votes necessary to advance legislation in the Senate, or mounting a filibuster ― something they’ve long complained about in the past when they were in the majority. For a brief moment on Wednesday, it looked like Democrats were going to use it on the GOP funding bill, heartening Democratic voters who demanded they do more to stop Trump.

But just a day later, after a heated closed-door debate within his caucus, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) announced he would not filibuster the bill, issuing a key signal that ultimately led nine more of his Democratic colleagues to follow suit and clear the way for its passage on Friday.

It was a stunning reversal that prompted outcry from other Democrats across the ideological spectrum, including two of Schumer’s allies, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.).