Democrats will face the biggest test of their early resistance to President Donald Trump this week as Republicans dare them to vote for a government shutdown.
Senior Democrats reacted angrily to a spending patch Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) released over the weekend that would fund the government through September. The measure, crafted ahead of a Friday shutdown deadline, lacked Democratic input and did not fulfill their demand that Trump spend all money appropriated by Congress.
The demand has served as a rallying cry as the White House wages what Democrats say is an assault on Congress’s power of the purse. Trump has unilaterally frozen funding and moved to shutter entire agencies without congressional approval.
But Democrats will soon be forced to decide if a shutdown is worth the risk of political blame as they press for a shorter-term extension. They spent weeks rallying outside agencies to signal support for federal workers but could now be responsible if those very workers are furloughed.
House Democrats have signaled they will present a united front against the funding bill when it arrives on the House floor Tuesday, with even centrists prepared to vote “no” as leadership whips against the bill.
“The American people want us to fight, and they’re going to see us fight,” Rep. Hillary Scholten (D-MI), who represents a purple district in Michigan, told CNN.
The continuing resolution is magnifying tensions in the Senate, however, as Democrats find themselves split over how aggressively to challenge Trump.
Senior Democrats like Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA), the ranking member on the Appropriations Committee, have sharply criticized the funding bill. Murray released an eight-page memo on Saturday highlighting the “wide discretion” the bill gives the president to slash programs covering veteran assistance, disease prevention, and “much more.”
But Republicans are betting they can peel off enough of the caucus to send the legislation to Trump’s desk. Johnson is expected to adjourn the House for a weeklong recess following the vote, in effect jamming the Senate without a viable backup plan.
On Monday, the Democrats most likely to support the funding patch were noncommittal on how they would vote.
“Let’s see what the House does,” said Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), who is up for reelection in New Hampshire.
“I’ll wait to see what the final version is, and then we’ll make a determination,” added Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), who represents swing state Arizona.
But those Democrats will be under immense pressure to support the legislation after years of panning GOP brinkmanship on government funding. On Monday, Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY), the Republican majority whip, penned an op-ed accusing the party of being “all in” on a government shutdown.
The Democrats who represent Maryland and Virginia, both Washington, D.C.-adjacent states, will feel that pressure most acutely as thousands of federal workers face the prospect of furloughs.
Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) has been outspoken in his opposition to the funding patch, calling it a “horrible bill” on Monday that underfunds military construction projects.
Meanwhile, Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA) held out hope that appropriators could return to the negotiating table to reach a bipartisan deal.
But neither committed to opposing the legislation on the floor. A third, Sen. Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD), simply responded, “We’ll wait and see.”
So far, Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA), a centrist from Pennsylvania, is among the only Democrats who have definitely committed to supporting the CR.
The uncertainty reflects the unique predicament for Senate Democrats.
In the House, Democrats can likely vote “no” without risking a shutdown since only a bare majority is needed to pass any bill. As of now, Johnson has a GOP-only path to passing the funding patch, though the vote will be tenuous given his two-seat margin.
By contrast, Senate Democrats will be unequivocally blamed if they oppose the bill due to the filibuster. Republicans will need at least eight Democrats to meet the Senate’s 60-vote threshold, as Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), a GOP fiscal hawk, pledges to vote no.
The funding battle represents the latest inflection point for Democrats as they acclimate to a GOP-led Washington.
The party has largely settled on a coherent message for 2026, warning of GOP cuts to Medicaid and other popular programs if Republicans succeed in passing their tax and border agenda later this year. But Democrats are still split over how directly to challenge Trump.
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Progressives staged walkouts and, in the case of Rep. Al Green (D-TX), cane-waving disruptions at last week’s joint address to Congress, but the commotion invited rebukes from centrist Democrats warning that the path back to power was in moderating their message, not doubling down on anti-Trump resistance.
Ultimately, 10 Democrats joined Republicans in censuring Green two days later.
