Welcome to Washington: Democrats’ Most Fateful Week Yet

One could have hoped that if anything came of the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk last week, it would be some sense of comity in national politics. Yet, as people search for answers about the killing and what it means for the future, Democrats will have to decide in a matter of days if they want to start twisting President Trump’s arm. Welcome to Washington, where the Kirk shooting has left lawmakers enraged, fearful, and clamoring for a modicum of normalcy. House members were shouting at each other before the news of Kirk’s death had even broken, and one congressman went so far as to blame the press for the killing. The acrimony won’t be going away as lawmakers return to Washington Monday to try to go about their normal business. If anything, things are somehow going to get worse among America’s elected leaders. This week, Congress seeks to come to some sort of agreement in order to keep the government open.Currently, the shutdown is set to begin at the end of the day on September 30, though the legislative branch is taking a whole week off beginning Thursday due to the Jewish holiday of Rosh Hashanah. It will be this week when all of the work has to be done, and Democrats are wrestling with how to prove to their base of voters that they can fight Mr. Trump the way that they are being asked to.Because of Senate rules, the Republican majority needs 60 votes to pass a government funding deal, meaning that at least seven Democrats would need to break ranks to keep the government open, should all GOP members be on board. Senator Charles “Chuck” Schumer, who voted to keep the government open during the last funding fight in March, is now making clear that he isn’t going to roll over this time. “What the Republicans are proposing is not good enough for the American people, and not good enough to get our votes,” Mr. Schumer said on the Senate floor on Thursday. “Republicans have to come meet us with a true, bipartisan negotiation to satisfy the American people’s needs.”Mr. Schumer and his Democratic counterpart in the House, Congressman Hakeem Jeffries, told members of the press that their demands would be focused primarily on healthcare costs. They say they need some kind of extension of Biden-era healthcare subsidies that are set to expire at the end of this year. “At this particular moment in time, we’re together as it relates to the unprecedented attack on the healthcare of the American people,” Mr. Jeffries told reporters, surrounded by fellow House and Senate Democrats. “We will not support a partisan spending agreement that continues to rip away healthcare from the American people. Period. Full stop.”Some Democrats are asking for even more. Senators Chris Murphy and Tim Kaine told the Sun this week that Democratic members of the Appropriations Committee are looking for some way to include a provision in the spending bill that would in some way restrict Mr. Trump’s impoundment or rescissions powers. “The budget … isn’t worth the paper it’s written on if the president is going to act illegally and refuse to spend the money that’s in it,” Mr. Murphy said, referring to Mr. Trump impounding hundreds of billions of dollars. “If we want to make it harder on the president to ignore congressional spending directives, we can do that. If the president’s going to act illegally, he’s going to act illegally, but we could make it a lot harder for him to win in court.”If Democrats learned anything from the March funding fight, it was that their voters do not want this government funded in a respectable, bipartisan way. Mr. Schumer’s favorable rating among Democrats plummeted after he voted to keep the lights on, and now some candidates running in the 2026 Senate elections are refusing to say they would support Mr. Schumer if he sought another term as Senate Democratic leader. It would be wise to remember the old joke that every senator looks in the mirror and sees a president. At this moment, turning this budget process into an ugly fight may be a high — but necessary — cost for those Senate Democrats who see themselves criss-crossing the presidential primary states in just 18 months.

Welcome to Washington: Democrats’ Most Fateful Week Yet

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