House Democrats are vowing to play hardball in the partisan battle over government spending, driving to extract steep concessions from Republicans who will need bipartisan buy-in to prevent a shutdown next month.
Democratic leaders are warning that they won’t support a funding package that includes steep cuts to their favored programs. Others would go a step further, saying they’ll oppose any bill that doesn’t answer the flood of executive actions from President Trump and the government-gutting efforts of Elon Musk.
The early maneuvering sets up a game of high-stakes chicken as both sides race to keep the government running — and avoid the blame for a shutdown — after March 14.
“I’m not a cheap date,” Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.) said. “They want to run and tell everybody that they have this huge mandate — that they can do whatever the hell they want to do. Well, if that’s the case then they should put their mandate-pants on and do whatever the hell they want to do.
“But if you want us to be helpful, then you have to engage us. And we’re not going to just be there to bail you out.”
The threats have teeth, since House Republicans are brawling over spending levels and haven’t ironed out their differences, while Senate Republicans will need bipartisan support to avoid a filibuster in the upper chamber. Those dynamics mean that Democratic votes will be needed to get a federal spending bill through Congress and on to Trump’s desk — leverage Democrats are hoping to use to their best advantage.
For some Democrats, that means holding the line to ensure continued funding for favored programs on the GOP chopping block, including Medicaid, USAID and public education. Others also want to use the spending fight to defang Musk and his cost-cutting team.
“For us to support a deal we have to really rein in these rogue billionaires, because I think it is outrageous what’s going on now,” Rep. Juan Vargas (D-Calif.) said. “The price that the Republicans have to pay here is going to be very, very high — to bring some sanity back to government — because I think at the moment it’s insane, all of these executive orders, all of these illegalities.
“The courts are even saying, ‘I’ve never seen anything like this,’” he continued. “So we can’t be a cheap date, and we better not be a cheap date.”
The warnings arrive as the bipartisan talks seeking a spending deal have stalled even before negotiators have arrived at a top-line figure to guide funding through September. A failure to act before March 15 would result in the closure of large parts of the federal government.
The impasse has sparked speculation that Congress will be forced to pass another short-term spending extension, known as a continuing resolution (CR), to keep the government open. But even in that scenario, bipartisan support would be needed. And Democrats are already threatening to withhold their votes if certain concessions aren’t met.
“If they need Democratic votes to pass the CR, then we need to have a very, very high price,” said Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.).
“The Republicans have the majority in the House, the Senate and the White House, and if they want to pass a CR according to their agenda and their way, they need to use their votes,” she added. “Now, if they need Democratic votes, then we need to have a Democratic agenda included in there.”
Such warnings have not been overlooked by Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and other GOP leaders, who are scrambling to unite their restive conference behind two separate proposals in the coming weeks: One to fund the government and prevent a shutdown, another to feature immigration reform, tax cuts and a host of other Trump priorities.
Amid that scramble, Republicans are accusing Democrats of blocking progress in the shutdown negotiations.
“It looks like the Democrats are trying to set up a government shutdown, and I think it’s terribly irresponsible and hypocritical because they’re the ones that howl all the time when we get close to a shutdown about how devastating it would be,” Johnson said.
“The way they’re explaining it is they want to somehow fight back against President Trump and what he’s doing in the administration by using government funding as a weapon, and that is not what the American people need.”
Democrats have rejected that argument out of hand, noting that Republicans control all levers of power in Washington, and Trump is claiming a mandate to adopt his promised agenda with or without Democratic support.
“You’ve lectured America that you have a big mandate. Where is it?” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) asked.
The official line from Democratic leaders is that they’re in wait–and-see mode, withholding their assessment of the GOP spending plan — and whether they’ll support it — until that plan is released. In the meantime, however, Democrats are also drawing some early lines in the sand, warning that they won’t support any spending package that includes some of the cuts Republicans have floated in the early stages of the debate.
Jeffries last week warned that Democrats won’t support some of the proposals floated by Republicans, including efforts to cut Medicaid, scale back the mortgage interest deduction, and slash food subsidies for low-income children.
“We will also not support massive tax breaks for Republican billionaire donors and wealthy corporations, while doing nothing to lower the high cost of living for everyday Americans, and then sticking working class Americans with the bill,” Jeffries said.
Rep. Pete Aguilar (Calif.), chairman of the House Democratic Caucus, added to that list on Tuesday, warning that Democrats will not tolerate cuts to the Department of Education, which Trump and Musk want to dismantle.
“If House Republicans won’t stand up for our kids and end their war on students, then they should not ask for our votes to pass a government funding bill,” Aguilar said.