Democrats Leverage US Shutdown to Try to Dent Trump’s Dominance
Representative Hakeem Jeffries, a Democrat from New York, left, and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Democrat from New York, at the White House in Washington on Sept. 29.
Photographer: Annabelle Gordon/BloombergPresident Donald Trump has steamrolled Washington this year with few checks on his authority — until now. Senate Democrats, incensed by unilateral actions made by Trump, his cabinet and especially his budget chief, are making a stand.
Democratic leader Chuck Schumer is giving his party a rare moment of leverage in a Washington where Republicans control the House, the Senate, the White House and the Supreme Court. Trump has waged a global trade war, deployed troops in cities, slashed the federal work force and withheld funding for states, cities and health care research, mostly by executive order, and with little opportunity in Congress to object. Congressional Republicans have gone along, passing Trump’s massive tax and spending package under special procedures that required no Democratic votes.