Capitol agenda: Democrats steer into a shutdown

Democrats are flirting with a shutdown. Their endgame is unclear.

Democrats are rallying around a hard-line approach to try to bring Republicans to the table to strike a government funding deal but don’t have a clear view of what victory looks like. For now, it’s primarily about showing some fight.

“We may not have the luxury of a victory scenario,” Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) said. “I think what we’re trying to do is avoid things getting worse. I don’t think victory is in anyone’s hopes and dreams in this moment.”

Democrats on Wednesday night released their own vision of a stopgap funding bill that would extend health care subsidies and undo Medicaid cuts. It’s an attempt at a rallying cry for a party that’s not quite moving in lockstep on a shutdown strategy.

“The Schumer Shutdown Plan reads like a draft of the platform for the 2028 Democrat National Convention,” Senate GOP Whip John Barrasso will say during a floor speech Thursday.

Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) has already vowed to support the GOP’s funding patch, and several other Democratic senators have yet to commit to opposing it. Frontline House Democrats including Reps. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (Wash.) and Jared Golden (Maine) have also been cagey in recent days about whether they’ll oppose the Republican CR.

Democrats will privately huddle in their respective chambers Thursday to discuss strategy.

Speaker Mike Johnson is working to shore up his own ranks as he eyes a Friday morning vote on the GOP CR.

Several Republicans are fighting to increase the bill’s allocation of $30 million for additional member security, among them Reps. Tim Burchett (Tenn.) and Anna Paulina Luna (Fla.). Republicans can lose only two votes at full attendance without Democratic support. GOP Reps. Victoria Spartz (Ind.), Warren Davidson (Ohio) and Thomas Massie (Ky.) have threatened to oppose it.

What else we’re watching:   

— Senate GOP to flex new rules for nominees: The Senate is set to confirm 48 nominees Thursday with a single vote, after Republicans changed the chamber’s rules to allow batch confirmations of most executive nominees and district court judges. The group includes picks from the Energy and Defense Departments. It also includes Kimberly Guilfoyle, who’s nominated to be ambassador to Greece, and Callista Gingrich, who’s nominated to be ambassador to Switzerland.

— D.C. officials to testify on Blue Light News: The District of Columbia’s top elected officials are set to appear before Congress on Thursday for the first time since Trump temporarily assumed control of the Metropolitan Police Department and deployed the National Guard throughout the capital city. Mayor Muriel Bowser, Council Chair Phil Mendelson and Attorney General Brian Schwalb will face tough questioning from Republicans on their handling of crime in the District, even as it reported a 30-year low in violent crime last year.

Nicholas Wu, Jordain Carney and Hailey Fuchs contributed to this report.