It Is Happening Every Day, Every Where
Many Democratic activists, desperate for their leaders to stand up to President Trump, have been staging protests outside of Senator Chuck Schumer’s home and calling for his resignation.
President Trump rallied support for Elon Musk’s car company, but there may not be enough conservatives willing to buy electric cars to make up for the Democrats who now shun Teslas.
The Senate minority leader discusses the backlash to his vote on the Republican spending bill, how he sees his role within the party and his new book.
The bill was passed just hours before a midnight deadline to avoid a lapse in funding, which would have shut down the government.
The Senate approved a separate bill that allows D.C. to continue operating under its current budget, which seemed on track to pass in the House. Senator Susan Collins said it had President Trump’s support.
Privately, many Senate Democrats conceded that their leader was doing his job by protecting his members from a tough vote and making a politically painful decision. But the backlash from his party was intense.
An afternoon vote was expected to clear the way for a Republican-written bill to keep government funding flowing past midnight after the top Senate Democrat said he would not block it.
A series of events in all 50 states aims to capitalize on a recent warning from Republican leadership that its lawmakers should avoid such public forums.
The stopgap measure the G.O.P. is pushing to avert a government shutdown omits billions of dollars in member-requested projects, another way in which Congress has ceded its power on federal spending.
On spending, oversight and other issues, Republican lawmakers have willingly ceded power traditionally reserved for Congress to the Trump White House.