CNN
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Hakeem Jeffries and House Democrats are ready to seize on the first big leverage point of President Donald Trump’s second term, lining up against a bill to avert a government shutdown this week.
But the party’s position is far murkier in the Senate, showcasing stark divisions within the party over how far Democrats are willing to go against Trump.
While House Democrats are preparing to vote in lockstep and force Republican Speaker Mike Johnson to put up the votes on his own, they’ve watched with frustration as Senate Democrats have been much more cautious in their deliberations. And if the House successfully passes its on Tuesday, Senate Democrats are saying little about how they’ll handle a take-it-or-leave-it option that could lead to a paralyzing — and politically toxic — shutdown.
“It would be a capitulation to the Trump style of democracy, which is the movement of democracy to dictatorship,” said Rep. Hank Johnson, a typically mild-mannered Democrat from Georgia, when asked what happened if Senate Democrats allowed the spending bill to become law.
Even with Trump and the GOP in charge of Washington, some Senate Democrats privately worry they could be blamed for a funding lapse. But others believe they risk backlash from their base if Democrats are seen as folding in the fight without a single concession from Trump.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer briefed his leadership team on Monday evening, during which New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker said Schumer did not outline an official position but briefed senators on “the outrageous things” in the House GOP bill. Schumer has made clear in recent days that he will keep his powder dry until the House vote, with Republicans there still struggling to lock down support.
“The House CR is a very bad bill,” Sen. Tim Kaine, who represents a large share of federal workers in Virginia, said when asked if he would support the GOP’s stopgap bill, known as a continuing resolution.
Kaine was among many Democratic senators on Monday who repeatedly slammed the House GOP bill, though didn’t oppose it outright. When asked about the choice Senate Democrats would have to make — either accept the House bill or risk a shutdown — Kaine cut off a reporter’s question and then declined to answer: “I’m not answering ‘if’ questions. I’m answering ‘what do I think of the bill?’ It’s a bad bill.”
And Georgia Sen. Jon Ossoff, who faces a potentially tough reelection next year, told CNN a shutdown is “not in our nation’s interests” and “we will see what comes out of the House.”
Exasperated Democrats on both sides of the Capitol privately feel like they are operating with little clarity of the other’s strategy. House Democrats are growing impatient as top Senate Democrats, including Schumer, have yet to lay out their position. It’s not just rank and file: Schumer has not briefed Jeffries on his plans, according to a Democratic lawmaker close to Jeffries.
A Schumer spokesperson told CNN that “Leader Schumer and Leader Jeffries are in constant communication.”
Many House Democrats said their Senate counterparts need to channel their base’s intense anger at the White House for its wide scale federal layoffs, plans to dismantle key agencies and planned cuts to safety net programs — or risk handing Trump even more power while further infuriating their base.
“Americans across the board are fed up with what Elon Musk and Donald Trump are doing,” added Rep. Seth Moulton of Massachusetts. “This is the only leverage that we have. Americans want us to do something.”
Already, multiple House Democrats are aiming their frustration at Schumer, who they do not believe is willing to risk a confrontation with Trump over spending, according to multiple lawmakers who were granted anonymity to discuss internal party dynamics.
“If Chuck Schumer can’t get us a better vote, he should resign,” one centrist House Democrat told CNN, who lamented the party was being too cautious even as Trump trampled over Congress’ powers. “What’s the plan? What’s the strategy? There isn’t one.”
Senate Republicans would need at least eight Democrats to back the bill, given staunch opposition from GOP Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky. But several battleground Democrats were noncommittal Monday night when asked how they would vote.
Other Democrats, though, were far more critical of the House GOP plan and signaled they would not accept it.
“I was stunned to read they were trying to jam through something that’s ‘their way or the highway,’” Booker said of the GOP’s plan. “They can’t get this done without Democratic support.”
For now, all attention is on the House, where Johnson and his deputies will attempt to pass the stopgap funding plan with only GOP votes Tuesday afternoon. Three Republicans, Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky, Rich McCormick of Georgia and Tim Burchett of Tennessee, are currently opposed, which is enough to tank the bill. A handful of other Republicans remained undecided on Monday night, signaling a tough fight ahead though GOP leaders insisted they could lock down the votes.
“I feel good, I think we’ll have the votes,” Johnson told reporters Monday night, adding that he had spoken with Trump three hours prior.
Trump himself is making calls to potential hold outs ahead of Tuesday’s vote, according to multiple people familiar with the outreach. One undecided Republican, Tennessee Rep. Andy Ogles, said he recently got a call from Trump, while Burchett said he got a call from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
Burchett told CNN that he is seeking an assurance from the president that DOGE will “go through the Pentagon like they have the other departments, like USAID, because I’ve got a feeling the fraud there and the abuse and the reckless spending is just over the top, and then I’ll make a decision after that.”
Vice President JD Vance will also huddle with House Republicans Tuesday morning ahead of the vote, according to a person familiar with the matter.
The ultra conservative House Freedom Caucus also met Monday night to discuss the plan and endorsed the stopgap measure in a statement afterward.
House Democrats, meanwhile, plan to present a unified front during Tuesday’s vote. Jeffries and his No. 2, Rep. Katherine Clark, told reporters Monday that Democrats would uniformly oppose the bill, after their leadership team spent the weekend phoning members about reasons to oppose it.
“It is not something we could ever support. House Democrats will not be complicit in the Republican effort to hurt the American people,” Jeffries told reporters of the spending bill.
Even moderate Blue Dog members do not plan to bail out Johnson on the vote if he can’t reach the 217 votes needed on his own, according to a person familiar with the members’ thinking. Jeffries will meet with a group of battleground Democrats ahead of the vote, but multiple Democrats planning to attend told CNN that they are already planning to oppose the bill.
Rep. Pramila Jayapal, a top House progressive, said it’s “very important” for Schumer and the party to block the bill in the Senate, as well.
“This gives them the permission to do all the things that they’re doing now with more, with even more ability to slash Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid,” Jayapal said.
Asked what happens if eight Democrats back the plan in the Senate, Jayapal retorted: “That’s not going to happen.”
CNN’s Annie Grayer, Ted Barret, Samantha Waldenberg, Alison Main contributed to this report.
