Democrats are reportedly “full of despair” after their ignominious defeat in the latest battle over spending and a potential government shutdown.
They should be.
Can anyone remember the last time Republicans went into a battle over shutting down the government and came out victorious? The outcome of this latest brouhaha has further solidified the reality that the Democratic Party is floundering after its crushing losses in the 2024 election.
Politico published a report suggesting that Senate Democrats “are bracing for a painful post-mortem” as they seek to ensure that such an outcome does not happen when Congress does this all over again in September.
Chuck Schumer, the Senate minority leader, and nine of his members helped get a House GOP-authored government funding bill to the finish line, saying a vote to advance legislation they loathed was the least bad option. The alternative, they argued, was allowing a shutdown that could empower President Donald Trump and Elon Musk to accelerate their slashing of the federal bureaucracy.
This was the first time since the start of Trump’s second administration that the party had real leverage to fight the president, as Republicans needed Democratic votes to overcome a filibuster. Democrats could have refused to put up those votes to avert a shutdown, but Schumer folded instead. This gambit is now raising internal questions about how Democrats will handle the next shutdown deadline at the end of September — and how they can avoid the same result.
Schumer’s strategy exposed major fissures within the party, marking for many of his members a disappointing retreat. It’s also raised questions among some Democrats about whether it’s time for the New Yorker to step aside — though no senators have publicly embraced those calls.
“We should do a retrospective,” said Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.). Asked whether his party lost some of its clout by acquiescing to the GOP’s funding bill, Gallego said: “That was my concern.”
Yes, a retrospective is precisely what is needed for Democrats. Even further, some on the left recognize that this battle might make things even worse for the party going forward. Republicans seem to have figured out a formula for defeating their opponents when it comes to passing spending bills.
Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) said Democrats set a “really dangerous precedent” in giving into to the GOP and questioned “why would Republicans work with us” in the future, Politico reported.
Now, Democrats are working behind the scenes to devise strategies that could help them regain at least a semblance of relevancy. They are discussing how they can effectively counter President Donald Trump’s agenda – especially when it comes to the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) initiative.
Yet, the sting of defeat still seems to haunt the Democrats. Sen. John Hickenlooper (D-CO) noted that the party is “full of despair” because they have not yet found their footing after being shellacked in 2024.
This is likely the fate of the Democratic Party for the time being. Americans have utterly rejected the party. Their dismal approval ratings show it.
But this does not mean they are giving up. It was reported last week that Democrats plan to hold town halls in Republican-held districts across the country. The objective appears to be sowing discontent and doubt about the Trump administration’s initiatives, including DOGE and others.
Indeed, there have already been protests in GOP districts related to the effort to slash government spending. While many of these have been astroturfed, there are authentic doubts about DOGE, which the president and Republicans will have to address if they don’t want to give their opponents any opening for legitimate criticism.
For now, Republicans are sitting pretty. But they better start producing some tangible results soon. Otherwise, their momentum could be halted.