Congress
Schumer: Dems will insist on Trump undoing ‘bad things’ in spending deal
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer reaffirmed that Democrats have a red line in the upcoming spending talks: No more federal funding freezes.
And he took it a step further, saying in a press conference Tuesday that “we will insist that there be certain changes that undo these bad things” — a reference to recent Trump administration moves like the now-paused funding freeze.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said Monday that he wants Trump’s attempted funding freeze “choked off” as part of any bipartisan spending deal. Republicans are certain to need at least seven Senate Democrats to back a funding agreement to overcome a filibuster, and it’s possible Speaker Mike Johnson might need House Democrats as well.
Extracting concessions in government funding negotiations ahead of a looming March deadline is emerging as Democrats’ latest and potentially most effective strategy to combat Trump and his allies’ attempts to slash spending and overhaul the federal government’s operations.
“On appointments, they don’t need Democrats,” Schumer said. “But on legislation — particularly the funding resolution — they do need us.”
Mired in the minority in both chambers, Democrats have little legislative recourse to resist Trump — instead forced to rely on press conferences, impromptu protests and symbolic votes against his nominees to display their defiance. Democrats claimed victory last week after the Trump administration rolled back efforts to implement a sweeping freeze on federal aid after courts stepped in to stop its implementation, but have otherwise struggled to land on a cohesive strategy for their opposition efforts.
But Democratic leaders have taken steps toward cementing their approach this week, with Jeffries on Monday laying out a 10-pronged strategy to respond to Trump ally Elon Musk’s attempts to upend federal government spending and operations. That plan includes a messaging push, legislation and litigation.
As part of that, Jeffries and Schumer unveiled a “stop the steal” bill on Tuesday to block “unlawful access” to the Treasury Department payment system that Musk and his allies recently gained access to under their “Department of Government Efficiency” initiative. It is all but certain to go nowhere, with Republicans in both chambers largely indicating that they’re giving Trump and Musk wide deference.
Democratic senators on Tuesday also sent a letter pressing Secretary of State Marco Rubio for more information about the administration’s efforts to dismantle USAID. And top Democrats overseeing the Treasury Department called on a congressional watchdog to investigate Secretary Scott Bessent allowing Musk’s allies access to the department’s payment systems.
Democrats also plan to unanimously oppose Russ Vought’s confirmation as director of the Office of Management and Budget, Schumer said Tuesday, following the party’s boycott of Vought’s committee vote to protest Trump’s funding freeze. Some Senate Democrats are now moving to place holds on lower-level nominees for key departments to protest the upheaval at USAID.
But Democrats aren’t united on all parts of their counter strategy. Some Democratic senators recently vowed to oppose all of Trump’s nominees, but a number of their colleagues are undercutting those efforts — joining Republicans in confirming Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, Energy Secretary Christopher Wright and VA Secretary Doug Collins.
Senate Judiciary Chair Chuck Grassley rescheduled a planned vote on Todd Blanche’s nomination as attorney general late Friday in a preemptive move as negotiations between the Trump administration and GOP holdouts continue.
The vote, now set for Tuesday after a scheduled Thursday vote was postponed, isn’t an indication that a deal allowing for Blanche’s confirmation is near, so much as it is a nod to Judiciary Committee rules that require three days of notice for a panel meeting.
There is no sign that President Donald Trump is about to acquiesce to the unflinching demands of Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), who wants a controversial settlement agreement between Trump and the IRS substantially pared back.
Cornyn, who lost his primary to a Trump-endorsed candidate, wants the Justice Department to nullify a $1.8 billion “Anti-Weaponization Fund” and limit the scope of a tax audit immunity component of the pact.
Trump told reporters earlier Friday the fund is “dead” but added “I wish it weren’t.”
“I’d like to see them compensated,” he added, referring to people he considers victims of government abuse, including participants in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack.
To advance Tuesday, Blanche needs to pick up Cornyn and Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), another senator on the panel with similar concerns. He can’t lose any GOP votes if he wants to be reported favorably out of the Judiciary Committee.
“Chairman Grassley wants Todd Blanche’s nomination to be successful,” said a Judiciary Committee spokesperson, who declined to be named. “Noticing the markup gives more time for the White House to secure the votes for the President’s nominee. Grassley would like to see Blanche confirmed before the August recess as he has an excellent record restoring law and order and keeping Americans safe.”
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise is zeroing in on one of House Republicans’ biggest contests — a purple district in Nebraska — when he starts his recess campaign sprint.
Scalise will travel to Nebraska’s 2nd Congressional District in the Omaha area for an event with Republican Brinker Harding in the coming days, according to a person with direct knowledge of the matter granted anonymity to share plans not yet made public. Republicans are digging in to defend the seat, which Kamala Harris won in the 2024 presidential race and is among Democrats’ best pick up opportunities this fall as they seek to flip the House.
Harding is running against Democratic consultant Denise Powell to replace retiring GOP Rep. Don Bacon. Bacon, a moderate-leaning Republican, flipped the Omaha district red in 2016.
After Nebraska, Scalise is planning to travel across the country throughout August, including to defend GOP incumbents Mariannette Miller-Meeks’ and Zach Nunn’s key battleground seats in Iowa’s 1st and 3rd Congressional Districts and Derrick Van Orden in Wisconsin’s 3rd Congressional District.
He’ll boost candidates working to flip blue districts like Laurie Buckhout in North Carolina’s 1st Congressional District, Derek Merrin in Ohio’s 9th Congressional District and Mike LiPetri in New York’s 3rd Congressional District.
Scalise also plans to travel to Michigan, Colorado, South Carolina and Texas for campaign events over the August recess.
President Donald Trump goaded John Cornyn on social media Friday morning, accusing the Texas senator of withholding his vote on Todd Blanche’s attorney general nomination in retaliation for Trump’s central role in his political demise.
Cornyn, who lost his May primary to Texas’ scandal-ridden attorney general, the Trump-endorsed Ken Paxton, has threatened to block Blanche’s nomination in the Senate Judiciary Committee until the White House promises to permanently shelve its $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization fund” in writing — something Trump appears unwilling to do.
“John Cornyn never had a problem with the so called “Fund,” which will not benefit me, but rather the great American Patriots who were hunted down like dogs and whose lives were unfairly and illegally destroyed by the Crooked Joe Biden Administration, until after I decided to Endorse and Support his Republican Primary opponent in Texas, who easily won the Nomination for the United States Senate,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
Several Republicans bristled at the fund, which could have been deployed to compensate Americans who faced charges after the Jan. 6 Capitol riot and which gives the president and his family audit immunity over taxes. At his July confirmation hearing, Blanche said that the fund, part of a settlement the president reached with the IRS, was defunct. But the administration has been “reluctant to change” the text of the settlement, Cornyn told reporters Thursday.
Trump signaled his continued support for the Jan 6 rioters on Friday.
“I will always feel that these victims of government abuse should be paid back for what they were forced to endure, their lives have been ruined!” he wrote. “Millions of people agree with me, as was proven in my landslide Presidential win, where this was a major subject of debate, and so did John Cornyn, until he lost his Election to an opponent that I Endorsed.”
On Thursday, the president suggested that he could punt a Senate vote on Blanche until after Cornyn — and Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) — leaves the chamber at the end of the year. Cornyn, however, suggested on social media that there are other Republican senators with concerns about the fund.
“After the midterms, who knows who’s going to be the next United States senator from North Carolina or Texas?” Cornyn told reporters.
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