Dem
47
GOP
53
Democrats have very little political power, except the filibuster in the Senate, which could rein in some of Donald Trump's plans that cannot be included in a reconciliation bill. But they do have the power of PR. Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) is urging his members to introduce amendments to the upcoming budget that will make it clear that the Republicans are planning to slash programs that help ordinary Americans, in order to pass tax cuts for the extremely wealthy. The amendments will all fail, but will give the Democrats something to talk to the media about.
Democrats are certain that the budget bill will slash Medicaid, which provides health care to poor people, few of whom vote for Republicans. Then they can argue that Congress is playing reverse Robin Hood, stealing from the poor to pay the rich. If they can break through, this could be a potent message in 2026. Republicans with large Medicaid populations in their states or districts may also be sensitive to this charge and may work to reduce the cuts. Democrats want to maximize the pressure on them.
The Democrats' House Majority PAC has put together a list of 27 battleground districts currently held by Republicans, showing for each one how many Medicaid recipients there are and how many of these are children. Making the vote about taking health care from poor children to allow billionaires to pay less tax is a media story the Democrats are going to push hard. This could force the Republican office holders in those districts to defend their votes next year.
Democrats in Congress need to do something, because their voters are very unhappy with them. A Quinnipiac poll shows that 80% of Democrats think that the system is either not working so well (32%) or at all (48%). Among independents it is 24% saying not working so well and 28% saying it is not working at all. Among Republicans the numbers are 22% and 12%, respectively.
Quinnipiac also asked whether Elon Musk has too much power. Among Democrats, 96% say he has too much while 56% of independents and only 16% of Republicans say that. (V)