Perhaps the only greater challenge for congressional Democrats than President Donald Trump’s sledgehammer approach to governing is a growing anxiety that the party’s base voters don’t feel they are doing enough to fight back.
So, as Trump rallies Tuesday to mark his first 100 days in office, Democrats have planned a series of high-profile speeches, sit-ins and events designed to demonstrate to voters that they are doing everything they can to fight back against the administration’s controversial actions.
Democrats in the Senate plan to hold the floor open late into the evening, delivering speeches criticizing what Minority Leader Chuck Schumer has termed “100 days of hell.” And they’ll join House Democrats on the Senate steps Wednesday to rail against Trump’s agenda.
“Day after day after day, we will hammer home the Republican agenda and Americans will see the difference between Democratic unity and Republican disarray,” Schumer said on the Senate floor on Monday. “As long as Donald Trump pushes America down the dangerous road we’re already on, he’ll face resistance from Democrats, from the courts, and most importantly, from the American people themselves.”
Democrats have been under pressure across the country from dissatisfied voters who feel they are falling short in opposing the president’s agenda. With Republicans holding the White House, the House of Representatives and the Senate, Democrats have struggled to find avenues to block the administration.
“There’s a tremendous amount of energy, there’s a tremendous amount of impatience, and there’s tremendous frustration,” acknowledged Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin.
“But I think our supporters, our progressive Democratic supporters, have come to realize that we have limited options with the minority status that we enjoy in the House and Senate, but we are going to do our best,” he continued. “And the good news is, the American people are watching this president and don’t like what they see.”
Durbin announced last week that he is not seeking reelection, giving up his coveted No. 2 position in Senate Democratic leadership. He’s held the post for two decades. Whoever takes over that position will play a key role in their party’s policies, politics and messaging during the second half of Trump’s term as Schumer’s deputy.
Hawaii Sen. Brian Schatz confirmed to CNN that he has begun conversations with other senators about running for the influential role, while Sens. Cory Booker of New Jersey and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts said they weren’t vying for it.
Warren appeared to accept some voter criticism Monday, saying elected Democrats need to do more to counter Trump.
“We need every single Democratic senator and representative 100% in the fight every single day. Donald Trump and Elon Musk are flooding the zone. It’s time for Democrats to flood right back,” she said as she entered a Democratic leadership meeting in Schumer’s Capitol office.
Asked if her comments suggested some Democratic lawmakers are not doing enough, she said she was “suggesting that it is always good to do more.”
Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar, another member of party leadership, also pointed to Trump when asked about the whip post. “I’m No. 3 in the Senate and my job is to focus on what policies are going to move our country forward and taking on the mess and chaos that Donald Trump has created, and it is a mess,” she said.
Looking to galvanize the party, Booker recently delivered a marathon floor speech against the Trump administration and over the weekend joined House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries in a sit-in on the steps of the US Capitol.
Arriving before sunrise Sunday, they were joined by other lawmakers and activists throughout the day as they warned of potential cuts to Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid.
Democrats, Booker said, need to find “creative new things to do” to spread their message.
“We must not stop speaking up. Hearing so many powerful voices – from American families to congressional leaders – has left me filled with hope for the fights and work ahead,” Booker wrote on X.
Jeffries added: “We will continue to show up, speak up and stand up until we end this national nightmare.”
Democrats are returning to Washington having heard back home the familiar refrain that their caucus has a messaging problem and isn’t fighting hard enough to combat Trump’s agenda and Republicans in power. But not all in the party agree on the best way to fight back.
Pressed by an attendee at her recent town hall over why voters aren’t hearing “anger and fight,” Washington Democratic Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez responded that “being angry, being loud feels good, but is it a productive long-term strategy?” She was met with shouts from the crowd.
For Jeffries, when it comes to acts of resistance, it’s a “more is more environment, not less is more.”
“Rallies, press conferences, demonstrations, sit-ins, town hall meetings in democratic districts, town hall meetings in Republican districts, days of action. More will continue to be more,” he said Monday.
The party’s tactics have – as expected – drawn Republican criticism.
“They’re certainly not convincing anybody,” GOP Sen. John Cornyn of Texas said of elected Democrats’ efforts to do damage control with their constituents.
“So, I assume, they’re doing it just to try to appease their base that just seems angry, but not very focused on what exactly do they want. Other than they want to reverse the election on November 5, which obviously is not going to happen.”
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