Schumer, Jeffries hustle to keep pace with Trump's actions and Democratic demands
The top two Democrats are under intense pressure to use aggressive messaging and tactics to counter a runaway executive and disgruntled voter base.
First Things First
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) took to the House floor this afternoon to detail what he described as a three-part Republican plan to betray the voters who helped deliver President Donald Trump a second term and GOP control of the House and Senate.
First, Republicans talk about lowering the high cost of living while proposing and advancing any policies or legislation actually to do so. Instead, the second aspect of the plan involves enacting massive tax cuts for billionaires and wealthy corporations in a move that will make way for the final phase of the agenda: Stick working-class Americans with the bill by slashing Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid.
“House Democrats want nothing to do with the Republican bait-and-switch,” Jeffries said. “And we will do everything possible to stop it.”
The speech followed Jeffries' announcement of forming a new rapid response and litigation working group to oppose future administration efforts to defy congressionally authorized directives. Assistant Democratic Leader Joe Neguse (Colo.) will chair the task force. Reps. Rosa DeLauro (Conn.), Gerry Connolly (Va.), and Jamie Raskin (Md.)—the top Democrats on the House Appropriations, Oversight, and Judiciary Committees, respectively—will be co-chairs.
Across the Capitol, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) announced with Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mich.), the ranking member of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, a new portal for whistleblowers to disclose information about wrongdoing, abuses of power, and threats to public safety. The lawmakers, who notified federal civil service employees and public servants of the portal in a public letter, said the website is in response to the Trump administration’s ongoing efforts to dismantle federal agencies like the US Agency for International Development and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
“As Senate Republicans refuse to fulfill their constitutional duty to provide a check on the Executive Branch, Senate Democrats remain steadfast in our commitment to uncovering the truth,” Schumer and Peters wrote. “We are prepared to issue demand letters, preserve public records, conduct public hearings and pursue legal action where necessary.”
Schumer followed the announcement of the whistleblower portal with a separate letter to Senate Democrats condemning the actions of President Trump and his administration accusing them of breaking campaign promises, enriching the wealthy, and undermining government functions similarly to Jeffries during his floor speech, while highlighting Senate Democrats’ efforts to push back through oversight, litigation, and communication.
“A mere three weeks into the new Trump Administration and it is clear Trump’s promise of a ‘golden age’ for America seems to merely be glitter,” Schumer added. “Now more than ever, it is incumbent upon all of us to continue to work overtime to push back, to fight for American families, and to deliver real results to lower costs, protect communities, and ensure accountable government.”
Allow Me To Explain
The Trump administration shows no signs of slowing its onslaught of controversial executive actions and Elon Musk-led dismantling of federal agencies. Hill Democratic leaders have found themselves not only under pressure to keep up with the dizzying pace but also to respond to unyielding pleas from grassroots organizers, discouraged voters and their own members to be as visible as the president and speak with a level of verve that meets the moment, one some Democrats have described as a constitutional crisis.
Several members I spoke to last week view the current landscape as a culmination of years of Democrats taking the high road, performing as the adults in the room, failing to aggressively promote their legislative achievements and messaging too much in traditional media outlets instead of embracing alternatives to reach the voters Trump and the MAGA right successfully attracted to their coalition last November.
Now, the Democratic Party lacks any federal institutional power, and members say it’s time for a shift in strategy.