Congressional Democrats are preparing to mount their latest acts of resistance to show frustrated progressive voters they’re using what limited powers they have to combat a Republican Congress from advancing President Donald Trump’s agenda.
Back from a two-week congressional recess for Easter, Democrats will use a series of speeches and events this week that Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said will highlight the “100 days of hell for American families, for our economy, and for our democracy” in Trump’s second term.
“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 Monday in floor remarks.
Senate Democrats are set to hold the floor late into Tuesday night with speeches to mark Trump’s first “disastrous 100 days” of his second administration and Republicans’ efforts to craft a budget reconciliation bill to enact the president’s priorities on energy, the border, and tax cuts. Progressive House Democrats will hold a press conference to highlight Trump’s first 100 days as well.
House and Senate Democrats will have a rare joint press availability on Wednesday as a show of cross-chamber unity to “decry in one voice” how Trump “has already failed our country in his second term,” according to Schumer.
The actions come on the heels of House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) and Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) holding a sit-in on the front steps of the Capitol over the weekend. At times, they were joined by other Democratic lawmakers and activists.
The headline-grabbing demonstrations are part of Democrats’ evolving efforts to resist Trump as the party struggles to temper expectations from an angry and anxious progressive base.
“You’re seeing the platforms of all my colleagues grow and grow and grow,” said Booker, who set a recent Senate record for the longest floor speech with a more than 25-hour marathon protest against Trump. “Tonight is going to be another one of those nights where I think you’re going to see millions of people actually hear from senators, and those senators then will be centering the voices of Americans that will be impacted.”
OUT OF POWER, DEMOCRATS RESORT TO THEATER AND PROCEDURE TO MOUNT TRUMP RESISTANCE
From procedural tactics to flashy PR stunts to blocking nominees, Democrats are increasingly wielding what limited powers are at their disposal to combat Republicans. But the party is still working to implement lessons learned from the stinging 2024 election losses, including some Trump-like messaging traits that Democrats see as winning tactics in the president’s chaotic second term.
“As long as Donald Trump pushes us down the dangerous road we are on, he will face resistance from the Democrats, the courts, and, most importantly, from the American people themselves,” Schumer said.
