WASHINGTON:
Frustration is mounting within the Democratic Party following the reluctant support of a Republican-backed spending bill by the party’s top U.S. senator and a group of lawmakers. The move, aimed at averting a government shutdown, is being viewed as a significant setback for Democratic backbenchers and a stark example of the party leadership’s struggle to effectively oppose President Donald Trump’s aggressive dismantling of the federal bureaucracy.
“Democrats must fight back, not roll over,” Congresswoman Nydia Velázquez asserted on Friday, urging her Senate colleagues to reject the spending proposal. Grassroots members of the party have warned that the bill includes damaging cuts to public programs.
The legislation reduces billions of dollars in public spending at a time when federal agencies are already struggling due to the dismissal of thousands of civil servants by Trump and his administration, including efforts led by figures like Elon Musk, who has been critical of government inefficiencies.
Despite appeals from Velázquez and other prominent progressives, such as Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the resolution passed the Senate late Friday with the support of 10 Democrats, including Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York.
Schumer, 74, had initially claimed earlier in the week that his party was united in opposing the Republican proposal backed by Trump. However, by Thursday, he reversed his stance, stating he would vote in favor of the bill to prevent a government shutdown.
Schumer defended his decision as the “least worst option,” arguing it was “the best way to minimize the harm that the Trump administration will do to the American people.” His close ally, Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois, echoed this sentiment.
“With Donald Trump and Elon Musk aggressively cutting the federal workforce and freezing funding, the last thing we need is to plunge the country into further chaos by shutting down the government,” Durbin said.
However, the decision has been difficult for many within the party to accept.
“Today was a bad day for the country, and I won’t sugarcoat it—today was also a bad day for the Democratic Party,” Senator Adam Schiff of California said in a video posted on X following the vote.
Schiff emphasized the challenges facing Democrats, who currently hold no control over the White House, Congress, or the Supreme Court. “The only hope we have of standing up to this president and pushing back against his destructive actions is if we stay united,” he said, expressing disappointment over the lack of unity within the Senate.
In a fiery post on the Bluesky platform, New York progressive Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez criticized Senate Democrats for what she called a “fear-based, inexplicable abdication” of their principles. She argued that their actions had “destroyed” the possibility of future cooperation with House Democrats.
