Senate Democrats

Are the Democrats on the verge of their own Tea Party? This question is dogging the Democratic Party, as Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer figures out how to handle an increasingly rambunctious base that declared open season on him this week. Months of frustration from the Democrats’ activists has boiled over after Schumer announced that he would vote to move forward with a bipartisan plan to avoid an imminent government shutdown. Schumer’s ultimate vote against passing the bill is of no consolation to Democrats, many of whom reportedly urged Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to primary Schumer. The Democrats’ problems stemmed from their underestimation of Speaker Mike Johnson, as Schumer told the Washington Post.

Four days away from inauguration, the Senate is moving quickly with confirmation hearings for President-elect Donald Trump’s cabinet. The saga began with defense secretary nominee Pete Hegseth’s contentious hearing Tuesday and quickly moved to half-a-dozen other hearings the next day, including that of secretary of state nominee, Senator Marco Rubio.  This morning, Congress continued with more hearings for top Trump nominees, including one with treasury secretary pick Scott Bessent, as well as with former representative Lee Zeldin, former governor Doug Burgum and former NFL player Scott Turner — who were nominated to lead the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Interior and the Department of Housing and Urban Development, respectively.

Welcome to Thunderdome. For the past several cycles, Donald Trump has been an anchor around the necks of Republicans running for federal office across the country, forcing them to respond to his every statement of wavering obnoxiousness. “Will you denounce” was practically an autofill statement from journalists, with exasperated Republicans having to suddenly come up with spin on the fly about whatever their top candidate was on about at the moment. This time around, that weight seems far heavier on Democrats. Witness the reaction to Kamala Harris’s endorsement, after previously calling for getting rid of the filibuster for climate issues and voting rights, to codify Roe v. Wade.