Johnson puts Senate Dems in a corner

Politico

12-03-2025

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IN TODAY'S EDITION:
CAPITOL HILL FIT CHECK — Derek Guy, who you probably know as @dieworkwear on X, is out with a POLITICO Magazine rundown of the five best-dressed men in Congress. Which GOP leader could have won his position 'on style alone'? Whose rumpled suits made the list? Read on.
OUT OF TIME — House Republicans passed their stopgap funding bill Tuesday evening, which means Senate Democrats can no longer delay their long-dreaded decision: Do they give up a chance to stand up to President Donald Trump or let the government shut down in three days?
Democrats plan to huddle around lunchtime to try to hash out their strategy for confronting the government funding fight. They have already held one 'vigorous discussion,' and even the chattiest senators emerged from their Tuesday meeting tight-lipped about their strategy. Many declined to say if they were unified in their approach.
They don't appear to be. Republicans need at least eight Democrats to vote in favor of the six-month stopgap, given GOP Sen. Rand Paul's expected opposition. Sen. John Fetterman is expected to cross party lines. But most of the 20 Democrats we surveyed in the minutes after the continuing resolution passed the House were noncommittal — particularly among the swing-state set.
A few Democrats are varying shades of 'no.' Sen. Jeff Merkley said he will oppose it, while Sen. Richard Blumenthal is a 'likely no.' Sen. Alex Padilla said he would not be in favor unless it offered California disaster aid after the Los Angeles wildfires.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer hasn't said a word publicly since the House vote. Sen. Elizabeth Warren issued a charge of her own: 'Democrats in the House have shown us they are united,' she told reporters after all but one House Democrat voted against the stopgap. 'Why should it be different in the Senate?'
But Senate Democrats are agonizing over a few things: Getting blamed for the shutdown, especially after House GOP leaders sent members home for recess, is a big consideration. And they're worried it would give Trump — who's set to be on the Hill today for the annual Friends of Ireland luncheon — unchecked authority to shutter even more parts of the federal government. That's an especially fresh concern after his administration moved Tuesday to gut the Education Department.
'A shutdown is uncharted territory when you've got an administration that, at least in some ways, probably would welcome a shutdown. Because that would give the president almost unlimited power in deciding who's essential, who's nonessential, holding up agencies,' Sen. Angus King, an independent who caucuses with Democrats, told reporters. 'That's the dilemma that's being discussed.'
GOOD WEDNESDAY MORNING. There are three days left until a possible government shutdown. Going to the Democrat retreat? Mia is too, while Lisa stays up on the Hill with the Senate. Email us at [e-mail] and [e-mail] and follow our live coverage at the Inside Congress blog at politico.com/congress.
THE SKED
The House is out.
— Democrats will begin their annual issues retreat in Leesburg, Virginia, with an opening press conference at 1:45 p.m.
— Speaker Mike Johnson will host Trump and Taoiseach Micheál Martin for the annual Friends of Ireland luncheon at noon, followed by a photo opportunity on the Capitol steps at 1:30 p.m.
The Senate is in session and voting to confirm Stephen Miran as chair of the Council of Economic Advisers and Keith Sonderling to be deputy secretary of Labor. Votes are set for noon, 2:15 p.m. and 5:15 p.m.
— Senate Democrats are expected to meet to discuss the continuing resolution this afternoon.
— Commerce will vote to subpoena the Massachusetts Port Authority at 9:30 a.m., then vote on Mark Meador's nomination to be a Federal Trade commissioner and Michael Kratsios' nomination to be director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy at 10 a.m.
— Budget will have a hearing to consider the nomination of Dan Bishop to be deputy director of the Office of Management and Budget at 2 p.m.
— Intel will have a closed-door briefing at 2:30 p.m.
— Small Business and Entrepreneurship will have a hearing on William Briggs' nomination to be deputy administrator and Casey Mulligan's nomination to be chief counsel for advocacy, both for the Small Business Administration, at 2:30 p.m.
— Veterans Affairs will have a hearing to consider Paul Lawrence's nomination to be deputy secretary of the VA.
The rest of the week: House Democrats will continue their policy retreat, and the chamber is on recess until March 24. The Senate will work to take up the stopgap funding bill by Friday.
THE LEADERSHIP SUITE
Johnson (and Trump) get a CR win
The speaker did the seemingly impossible: He passed a continuing resolution with almost no Democratic support. But Johnson couldn't do it without Trump, Meredith Lee Hill and Jennifer Scholtes report.
'If it weren't for Trump, there's no way I would be voting for this,' House Freedom Caucus Rep. Eric Burlison told Mia. Burlison and others who typically oppose stopgap funding bills said they were assured that spending would be reined in due to Trump's Department of Government Efficiency cuts.
Still, it's a complete turn for fiscal hawks, some of whom ousted former Speaker Kevin McCarthy over his decision to send a CR bill to the floor less than two years ago, as our Rachael Bade reminds us in her latest Corridors column.
Johnson the therapist
Johnson's incredibly thin margin in the House often leaves him playing the role of 'mental health counselor,' he said during a fireside chat at Georgetown University's Psaros Center. The speaker described his work as akin to managing a 'giant control panel' with dials for his GOP members, one for Trump and one for Elon Musk.
'Elon has [the] largest platform in the world, literally. And if he goes on and says something that's misunderstood or misinterpreted about something we're doing, he can blow the whole thing up. So I spend a lot of time working with all these dials and all these folks, and I just run around all day and make sure everybody's happy,' Johnson said.
Hakeem Jeffries coalesces his caucus
House Democratic leaders are looking to get their caucus on the same page after an uncoordinated response to Trump's joint address to Congress last week, Mia reports with Nicholas Wu. Democrats' challenge, as they work on a party strategy reset at their annual policy retreat today: How do they channel the anti-Trump energy of the Democratic base — and many of their members — while calibrating their message to the swing voters they need to win?
Johnson and John Thune try to get on the same page
Johnson met with the Senate majority leader on Tuesday as the top congressional Republicans look to hash out their other big problem — agreeing on a path forward for enacting Trump's sweeping domestic policy agenda. 'Both of us understand we've got to get this done. We're trying to figure out the best way to do that,' Thune said afterward.
POLICY RUNDOWN
PROTECTING TRUMP'S TARIFFS — House Republicans slipped wonky language into the stopgap funding bill rule, which would effectively block Democrats from forcing a vote to repeal Trump's controversial tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China, Daniel Desrochers and Doug Palmer report with Meredith. Specifically, the language would prevent any member of Congress from bringing up a resolution terminating Trump's declaration of a national emergency over fentanyl and undocumented immigrants entering the U.S. — something Democrats were looking to do.
VISA REVISIONS — House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan is eyeing his party's flagship immigration bill as the legislative vehicle for giving Musk the overhaul he wants on high-skilled visa rules, Brendan Bordelon and Hailey Fuchs report. Musk has pushed for increasing immigration visas for those with expertise in science, technology and engineering.
GREEN CARD PROBE — House Judiciary Democrats are looking into whether the Trump administration is acting illegally in attempting to revoke the green card of a Columbia University graduate student who has become a face of college-campus protests over the Israel-Hamas war, Hailey reports.
FIRST IN INSIDE CONGRESS: SCHIFF'S SUBSTACK — As Democrats look for new ways to appeal to voters, Sen. Adam Schiff is launching a substack called 'The Schiff Notes,' where he plans to highlight the news of the day and what he is up to in the Senate. Schiff wrote in a statement shared first with Mia that he was launching it because 'it's impossible to keep up with all the craziness that's going on these days.'
Best of POLITICO Pro and E&E:
CAMPAIGN CORNER
Former GOP Sen. Scott Brown joined Republican senators' weekly lunch Tuesday as he mulls a Senate run in New Hampshire — and a potential rematch against Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen. Democrats are hoping Shaheen will run again so they don't have to defend yet another open seat in a blue-leaning swing state in 2026.
Brown, who was in Washington for meetings unrelated to his potential campaign, will make a decision 'in due time,' a person granted anonymity to describe Brown's timeline told Lisa. Meanwhile, former New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu, who had all but ruled out a run for the seat, is apparently looking at it again.
THE BEST OF THE REST
New Parent Proxy Voting to Get House Vote After Speaker End-Run, by Maeve Sheehey at Bloomberg Government.
CAPITOL HILL INFLUENCE
Tim Costa is now a partner at Continental Strategy. He most recently was chief of staff to Rep. Dan Meuser.
JOB BOARD
Natalie Adams is now comms director for Rep. Jamie Raskin. She previously was press secretary for Sen. Bob Casey.
Madeline Sieren is now deputy comms director for Sen. Josh Hawley. She previously was comms director for Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey.
Ethan Sorcher is now military legislative assistant for Rep. Wesley Bell. He previously was a foreign policy legislative assistant for Rep. Josh Gottheimer.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY
Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) … Reps. Ritchie Torres (D-N.Y.) and Joyce Beatty (D-Ohio) … Jalen Drummond … former Sens. Kent Conrad (D-N.D.) and Mitt Romney (R-Utah) … former Rep. Val Demings (D-Fla.) … Jordan Evich of Monument Advocacy … Alex Vargo … Riley Barnes … Scott Comer … Colleen Carlos … S-3 Group's Matt Bravo … Jeremy Pelzer … Neil Fried … Jeff Landel … Steven Stenberg … Matt Glassman of Georgetown's Government Affairs Institute … Economic Innovation Group's Alex Heathcock … Amplifire Strategies' Preston Maddock … Rachel Levitan … David Sheon of Whitecoat Strategies
TRIVIA
TUESDAY'S ANSWER: Gregory Clark correctly answered that John Hanson was considered the 'President of the United States in Congress Assembled' under the Articles of Confederation.
TODAY'S QUESTION, from Mia: Which senator holds the record for the most states represented in their lifetime and what were the states?
The first person to correctly guess gets a mention in the next edition of Inside Congress. Send your answers to [e-mail].