Democrats plot strategy in shutdown fight against Trump: ‘Not a lot of good options’
CNN
Democrats have been powerless as they’ve watched President Donald Trump systematically move to dismantle federal agencies and push the bounds of his office with little concern about the fallout.
Democrats have been powerless as they’ve watched President Donald Trump systematically move to dismantle federal agencies and push the bounds of his office with little concern about the fallout. But they do have one looming piece of leverage: the March 14 deadline to avert a government shutdown. House and Senate Democrats at the highest levels are now engaged in a fierce debate about what exactly to demand in their first big negotiation with Trump and how forcefully to push, according to conversations with more than two dozen members and senior aides. Trump and GOP leaders will need Democratic support in the Senate, where 60 votes would be required to advance the bill. In the House, they have to contend with a contingent of conservatives unlikely to vote for any spending bill. While rank-and-file Democrats are eager to play hardball with Trump, other senior Democrats are uncertain how firm of a line to draw, fearing they may be forced to capitulate in a funding feud and ultimately appear even weaker. House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries and his Senate counterpart, Chuck Schumer, have been in talks about how best to use the funding deadline to counter Trump. But some top Democrats worry that even if they won policy concessions, Trump would only ignore the law — as they believe he has in some of his initial assaults on federal agencies — so a knockdown, drag-out battle and potential shutdown could be all for naught. “If the foundational role of Congress is the power of the purse, why would we ever believe them again on an appropriations deal?” said Sen. Chris Coons, a Democrat from Delaware. “It’s going to be harder for us to work together because it’s harder for us to trust each other.”
The retirement of Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin after nearly 30 years in office sparked an expensive three-way Democratic primary that has showcased the party’s divisions over how to confront President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown and introduced pro-crypto forces as an influence seeking to shape the midterm elections. The contest is also setting up a test of Gov. JB Pritzker’s political clout in the state as he eyes a potential 2028 presidential bid.
One month into the partial government shutdown, hundreds of Transportation Security Adminstration workers going without full pay have quit, prompting more travel headaches amid ongoing staffing shortages, a winter storm in the Midwest and spring break travel.
Moves to create massive new immigration detention facilities are catching local officials by surprise, leaving them and their communities scrambling for answers.
The Israeli military said the brother of the man who drove a vehicle laden with explosives into a Michigan synagogue Thursday was a Hezbollah commander killed in a strike last week.
A Rhode Island community had their own “Miracle on Ice” last night when Colin Dorgan whose mother, father and grandfather were killed in a devastating shooting last month, scored the game winning goal in double overtime to lead the Blackstone Valley Schools’ hockey team to the championship game.
As the politics around Israel shift in the US, many Democratic lawmakers and candidates are seeking distance from the American Israel Political Affairs Committee. It comes as the group is spending big to shape the outcome of primaries across the country.
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As CENTCOM commander, it’s up to Adm. Brad Cooper to keep the military campaign on track until a political decision is made to end it — however long that may take.
As the war with Iran continues, oil prices are soaring and airlines will see higher fuel costs – which could hit travelers around the world in their wallets.
Raúl Guillermo Rodríguez Castro, grandson of former Cuban President Raúl Castro, appeared for the first time alongside Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel at two public events on Friday, raising questions, according to analysts, about his role in Cuba’s leadership as the island faces calls for regime change from the United States.
Federal prosecutors charged a lobbyist with trying to extort a former client and his son to recover half a million dollars in debt, according to court filings.
A slew of documents related to President Donald Trump’s plans to close and extensively renovate the Kennedy Center must be turned over to a Democratic congresswoman who sits on the center’s board ahead of a Monday vote on the president’s plan, a federal judge has ruled.
On a quiet Thursday morning in suburban Detroit, a pickup truck sat in the parking lot of a synagogue, as children and teachers inside went about their normal routines.