The Democrats are taking a stance against President Trump in response to constituent pressure; House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senator Cory Booker are leading the charge. They are sitting on the steps of the US Capitol.
Early on Sunday morning, a group of Democratic legislators began a rally that Booker characterized as a “moral urgency.” They urged community members and activists to talk about the risks when Congress returns from holiday.
Booker mentioned that the current situation where the House Republican leaders are threatening to “force a bill through” when Congress returns from a two-week break tomorrow.
To forward Trump’s expansive legislative agenda, Republicans in both houses of Congress enacted a budget plan earlier this month. The leadership of the party has said that the next package would include spending cuts of over $1.5 trillion, along with Trump’s proposed tax cuts and border goals.
Jeffries warned that Republicans were attempting to force a harsh budget on the American people, threatening to reduce essential healthcare and assistance programs “all in the service of a massive tax cut for their billionaire donors” and threatening to “choose the side of the American people” or the cruel budget.
House Speaker Mike Johnson assured moderate Republicans that Medicare and Social Security will remain unchanged, despite Democratic claims that Republicans cannot fulfill their promises of significant budget cuts without slashing these programs.
Joining Jeffries and Booker in their talk are other Democratic senators, including Senators Chris Coons and Angela Alsobrooks, as well as activists, such as American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten and civil rights lawyer Maya Wiley.
Booker recently made history when he talked against the injustices he felt the Trump administration is inflicting on Americans for 25 hours straight on the Senate floor. It was the longest speech in the chamber’s history.
As the Democratic Party seeks “creative new things to do” to spread their message, the New Jersey Democrat—who will be 56 years old on Sunday—and Jeffries decided to spend their last day before the next session on the steps of the Capitol.
“Business as usual is not going to cut it,” he said.
In response to voters’ inquiries over their actions against the Trump administration, some Democratic representatives have hosted town hall meetings nationwide.
A constituent at the town hall asked the lawmaker why his people aren’t hearing “anger and fight” from him. As for the long-term effectiveness of “being angry, being loud,” Washington state Democratic Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez said, “Is it a productive strategy?”
A group of people in the audience shouted out “yes,” and then someone said, “why don’t you simply defend us?”
As for Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, he was met with strong opposition from certain members of his own party last month when he chose not to veto a measure put forth by the Republicans to prevent a government shutdown.
The majority of Senate Democrats voted against a critical measure to advance it, citing concerns that it would give Trump more power. Despite this, the Democrat from New York has maintained his position as caucus leader, telling HEADLINESFOREVER’s Dana Bash on Sunday, “I’m staying put.”
Senate Democrats are “united on message,” according to Schumer, who told Bash, but it’s his responsibility to “highlight all the talent in the caucus in different ways.” He used Booker as an example of a talented voice in the party.