{"id":7190,"date":"2025-03-12T12:03:51","date_gmt":"2025-03-12T12:03:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/capitol-agenda-johnson-puts-senate-dems-in-a-corner\/"},"modified":"2025-03-12T12:03:51","modified_gmt":"2025-03-12T12:03:51","slug":"capitol-agenda-johnson-puts-senate-dems-in-a-corner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bluelightnews.com\/category\/politics\/capitol-agenda-johnson-puts-senate-dems-in-a-corner\/","title":{"rendered":"Capitol agenda: Johnson puts Senate Dems in a corner"},"content":{"rendered":"
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House Republicans passed their stopgap funding bill Tuesday evening, which means Senate Democrats can now no longer delay their long-dreaded decision: Do they give up a chance to stand up to Donald Trump or let the government shut down in three days?<\/p>\n

Democrats plan to huddle around lunchtime to try and hash out their strategy for confronting the government funding fight. They have already held one \u201cvigorous discussion,\u201d and even the chattiest senators emerged from their Tuesday meeting tight-lipped about their strategy<\/u><\/a>. Many declined to say if they were unified in their approach.<\/p>\n

They don\u2019t appear to be. Republicans need at least eight Democrats to vote in favor of the six-month stopgap, given GOP Sen. Rand Paul\u2019s expected opposition. Sen. John Fetterman is expected to cross party lines. But most of the 20 Democrats we surveyed in the minutes after the continuing resolution passed the House were noncommittal \u2014 particularly among the swing-state set.<\/p>\n

A few are varying shades of \u201cno.\u201d Sen. Jeff Merkley said he will oppose it, while Sen. Richard Blumenthal is a \u201clikely no.\u201d Sen. Alex Padilla said he would not be in favor unless it offered California disaster aid after the Los Angeles wildfires.<\/p>\n

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer hasn\u2019t said a word publicly since the House vote. Sen. Elizabeth Warren issued a charge of her own: \u201cDemocrats in the House have shown us they are united,\u201d she told reporters after all but one House Democrat voted against the stopgap. \u201cWhy should it be different in the Senate?\u201d<\/p>\n

But Senate Democrats are agonizing over a few things: Getting blamed for the shutdown, especially after House GOP leaders sent members home for recess, is a big consideration. And they\u2019re worried it would give Trump \u2014 who\u2019s set to be on Blue Light News today for the annual Friends of Ireland luncheon \u2014 unchecked authority to shutter even more parts of the federal government. That\u2019s an especially fresh concern after his administration moved Tuesday to gut the Education Department.<\/p>\n

\u201cA shutdown is uncharted territory when you’ve got an administration that, at least in some ways, probably would welcome a shutdown because that would give the president almost unlimited power in deciding who\u2019s essential, who\u2019s nonessential, holding up agencies,\u201d Sen. Angus King, an independent who caucuses with Democrats, told reporters. \u201cThat\u2019s the dilemma that\u2019s being discussed.\u201d<\/p>\n

What else we\u2019re watching:<\/b><\/p>\n