Some Democrats are trying to attach themselves to popular parts of President Donald Trump’s agenda, dividing the party as others try to combat his every move.
In the nearly two weeks Trump has been back in the Oval Office, he has signed a slew of executive orders in an attempt to reshape the federal government, including banning diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, pardoning Jan. 6 riot defendants, including those who assaulted police officers, and pulling the U.S. out of the World Health Organization, which Democrats have condemned.
While Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) has found himself under pressure to resist Trump’s moves, his party’s attempts have been lackluster. However, they may have hit on a successful blueprint this week when they notched their first victory of the administration, forcing the White House to walk back a memo from the Office of Management and Budget that froze congressionally appropriated federal funding.
“We started Jan. 20 really down in the dumps,” Schumer told Punchbowl News. “Our constituency has really been given a lift by our example… We knew that [Trump] had really screwed up. And we just pounced.”
Besides short-term wins, Democratic leaders are also looking ahead to the 2026 midterm elections, which mostly include contests in solid-red states or playing defense in battleground districts. Some Democrats have taken a more centrist approach to problems like immigration as the party looks to recalibrate after their losses in 2024.
“I think Donald Trump has painted the Democratic Party into a corner on immigration, and it’s going to take us a while to get out of the corner,” Sen. Michael Bennet (D-CO) said. “I want us acting out of conviction about what we believe about immigration rather than out of fear.”
Even as some caucus members and progressive voters call for more action, like attempting to delay some nominations over their refusal to undergo an FBI background check, Schumer said the smarter move is to save the fight for Trump’s most controversial plans, including Cabinet nominees.
“We’re not going to vote no on [all of them] — some people get up there and say, ‘vote no on everybody!’ No,” Schumer said. “This fight is over the executive orders — this is at the heart of what they want to do.”
However, Schumer was actively opposed to Office of Management and Budget director nominee Russ Vought, saying, “Mr. Vought stands in direct opposition to everything Senate Democrats are fighting for…Given Mr. Vought’s track record, I cannot, in good conscience, support his nomination. I will vote against him, and I will do so proudly,” after a one-on-one ahead of Vought’s hearing.
Senate Democrats boycotted the vote to bring Vought out of committee and to the Senate floor to a full chamber vote earlier this week. They view him as being one of the people pulling the strings behind Trump, believing that once he is confirmed, many disputes will be through Vought.
On the other hand, some Senate Democrats have voted to confirm some of Trump’s nominees.
Six Democrats voted to confirm Kristi Noem to lead the Department of Homeland Security. Democrats also gave their Senate Republican colleagues a boost in passing the Laken Riley Act, with Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) and Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) co-sponsoring the legislation.
“We’re not going to automatically just knee-jerk reject anything that comes from the White House. We’re not going to run to the barricades when they use words like ‘mass deportation,’ because even now, to this day, they have not really qualified what their plans are,” Gallego said before being sworn into office. “We’re going to wait and hear what their actual goals are, see if we can work together.”
Schumer voted against the bill, telling Senate Democrats to engage with Republicans but that they need to have more discussions and negotiate amendments to advance the Democrats’ agenda.
In the House, Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) is also playing the balancing game between centrists and progressives over what exactly to oppose Trump and his GOP allies on.
As the highest-ranking black elected official in the country, some Democrats have looked to Jeffries as a leader with Trump back in power. This week, Jeffries voiced his frustration with Trump when the president repeatedly claimed, without providing any evidence in support of his claim, that the fatal air crash at Reagan National Airport was due to DEI initiatives.
“Lives have been lost. Families have been devastated,” Jeffries said. “People are suffering, and the leader of this country decides to go out and peddle lies and conspiracy theories and attack people of color and women without any basis whatsoever. Have you no decency? Have you no respect for the families whose lives have been turned upside down?”
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House Democrats have reportedly indicated that they want to see more of this from Jeffries going forward, but Jeffries appears keen to keep playing the balancing game.
“We understand that extreme MAGA Republicans have a strategy. They want to flood the zone with outrage, but we can’t chase every outrage. I’m a Yankee fan..and Aaron Judge is my favorite player,” Jeffries said Friday. “One of the reasons that he’s a great hitter is that he does not swing at every pitch. He waits for the right one, and then he swings. We’re not going to swing at every pitch. We’re going to swing at the ones that matter.”
