Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) said the current fight over a Republican spending bill was the “best time” for Democrats to take on President Trump, coming less than two months into his presidency.
Speaking on CNN on Thursday, Merkley said, “The best time to take on a tyrant is as early as possible, and this is the moment.”
Merkley argued a government shutdown would hurt Republicans politically and restore Democratic leverage in spending battles with GOP majorities.
“It will be bad policy, and we will get back to using our leverage in an effective fashion,” he said in his CNN remarks highlighted by Mediaite.
Hours later on Thursday, Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (N.Y.) announced on the Senate floor that he would vote to advance the House Republican-drafted six-month government funding bill.
Schumer faced immediate and angry responses Thursday night, as many Democrats were gearing up for a fight against the bill.
Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) spoke out against the House proposal, which seeks to reduce funding for nondefense programs and would allow Trump to more freely reallocate funds in pursuing his agenda.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) encouraged her supporters on social media to call Democratic senators and ask them to “vote NO on Cloture and NO on the Republican spending bill.”
But it’s not only progressives splitting with Schumer.
Sens. John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.) and Mark Warner (D-Va.), both centrist Democrats facing reelection in 2026, declared their intention to vote against the stopgap bill.
And purple-state Sens. Mark Kelly (D) and Ruben Gallego (D) of Arizona said they will oppose the Republican bill.
“I cannot vote for the Republican plan to give unchecked power to Donald Trump and Elon Musk,” Kelly said in a statement. “I told Arizonans I’d stand up when it was right for our state and our country, and this is one of those moments.”
