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March 6, 2025
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PRESENTED BY
THE TOP
How Trump unites and divides Democrats all at once
Happy Thursday morning.
New … The Conference announcement: We’ll be sitting down at The Conference with White House Director of Legislative Affairs James Braid and James Blair, the White House deputy chief of staff for legislative, political and public affairs.
Braid and Blair are at the center of passing President Donald Trump’s legislative agenda. We’ll get a download from them on what to expect on Capitol Hill and in Washington during the coming weeks and months.
Braid and Blair will join a best-in-class list of D.C. power players including Speaker Mike Johnson, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and many more.
The Conference is an invite-only event on March 11 in D.C.
Now let’s talk about House Democrats. Consider the position that House Democrats find themselves in right now.
The House will vote today on a GOP resolution to censure Rep. Al Green (D-Texas).
During the biggest night of the Washington calendar, in which tens of millions of people tuned into the Capitol, the 77-year-old Green was ejected from the House chamber after he waved his cane, screamed at Trump and refused to relent when Speaker Mike Johnson asked.
The House Democratic leadership had asked rank-and-file members to sit somberly during Trump’s address to Congress. Instead, in addition to Green’s outburst, a number of Democrats booed and hissed at Trump. Scores held signs berating Trump and mega billionaire Elon Musk.
Top Democrats wanted to keep the fight with Trump and Republicans about policy. Leadership suggested that they keep the focus on Trump, the massive wave of DOGE-related layoffs, slashing Medicaid and tax cuts for the rich.
Yet this week will end with the Green censure vote and a burst of internal Democratic Caucus infighting over how best to counter Trump, who they all loathe but can’t seem to beat (at least not right now).
Multiple House Democrats complained to us that their leadership isn’t providing sufficient guidance on key issues. This situation reared its head on Tuesday, when moderate Democrats were surprised – and dismayed – at the tone and scale of their colleagues’ protests.
There’s a furious energy coming from the base demanding action and leverage that Democrats don’t really have. But when Democrats do try to show they’re fighting back, the party is often ridiculed for appearing “out of touch.”
Just take a look at how different the vibes are between progressives and Frontliners over what happened during Trump’s address.
“The bottom line is a lot of people are upset, and they expressed they’re being upset,” said Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-N.Y.), who won back a swing Long Island district for Democrats last year:
Suozzi added: “I also thought it was inappropriate, the interruptions of the president when he was speaking… It was bad when Republicans did it to Democratic presidents too.”
Rep. Eric Sorensen (D-Ill.) put it this way: “I have to serve the Republicans, the Democrats and the independents in my district and so for me, it meant sitting there and clapping.”
Meanwhile, Rep. Veronica Escobar (D-Texas), who held up a sign that read “False” while Trump was speaking, said it isn’t enough for Democrats to stay silent and simply vote no.
“My intention was to make sure we didn’t sit there and allow him to say anything he wanted,” Escobar told us. “We’re a big tent party and we have Democrats who will vote for certain bills that I don’t agree with, but I respect where they’re coming from. I honor their perspective and I don’t look down on them.”
Some members who were upset by the lack of decorum during Trump’s speech suggested House Democratic leadership isn’t disciplining members who step out of line.
Rep. Greg Landsman (D-Ohio) expressed a desire to move on from “all of the grievance crap and the cultural war nonsense — whether it’s screaming and shouting from Republicans or paddle signs from Democrats.”
“Unfortunately, that’s going to be very difficult while he’s president,” Landsman acknowledged.
Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) added: “I stood for the president out of respect for the office and the American people and for the young boy fighting cancer.” Khanna said Tuesday was “not a proud moment for politics in our nation.”
“My view is we push back on Trump by going to voters in red areas, making the case for our vision, and sharing the firings of veterans and cuts in Medicaid that will impact their lives,” Khanna said.
As they angrily protest over the latest round of DOGE layoffs, Democrats are at the biggest legislative leverage point of the first half of the year – the March 14 government-funding deadline.
The big ask that Democrats have mustered is that Republicans agree to limit how Trump can spend money. Of course, Trump would never sign anything like that. We’ll see in a few days whether House Democrats vote for the funding bill anyway.
Raising the debt limit and a disaster-aid package may also emerge as key issues, even as Republicans struggle to craft a massive reconciliation package.
Yet unlike 2017, when Republicans last held the House, Senate and White House, Democrats don’t have a competitive special election to hang their hopes on, unless a very big surprise happens in Rep. Elise Stefanik’s (R-N.Y.) solid-red seat. Stefanik will resign soon to become U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.
— Jake Sherman, Max Cohen, Mica Soellner and John Bresnahan
Happening in one week: Join Punchbowl News next Thursday, March 13 for a wide-ranging conversation with former astronaut and current Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) and Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), on the news of the day and the continued development of space policy. Afterward, we’ll have a fireside chat with Tory Bruno, President and CEO of the United Launch Alliance. RSVP to save your spot!
GRANITE STATE WATCH
Shaheen’s reelection decision expected soon
Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (N.H.) is expected to announce this month whether she’s seeking another term in the Senate, we’re told by multiple New Hampshire sources.
Shaheen is the last remaining Senate Democrat in a competitive seat who hasn’t publicly announced their plans for 2026.
Shaheen, 78, is keeping Democrats in the Granite State and Washington in the dark on her decision to run again. Shaheen recently assumed the position as the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and has embraced the role as a leading voice on global affairs. Shaheen is keeping up a vigorous travel schedule and even visited Ukraine last month to show support for the embattled nation.
Shaheen was tight-lipped on Wednesday and told us she hadn’t come to a reelection decision yet. Here’s Shaheen’s response to our follow-up question on how she was weighing whether to run again:
“The way I always do — by talking to friends, family and supporters and thinking about the challenges we face.”
After losing their majority in November, Senate Democrats are seeking to avoid the prospect of defending another open seat in a battleground state next year.
In recent months, Sens. Gary Peters (D-Mich.) and Tina Smith (D-Minn.) announced they weren’t running for reelection, putting two open seats in play. With Democrats already mired in the minority, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer is pleading with his rank-and-file senators to decide sooner rather than later if they’re running again.
Senate Republicans think the Granite State is in play in 2026 as well. The NRSC is already running ads targeting Shaheen over her defense of USAID funding that the Trump administration has cut. The Senate GOP campaign group has also held meetings with former Sen. Scott Brown (R-Mass.) — who lost to Shaheen in 2014 — about a potential rematch.
“Sen. Shaheen voted twice against banning males from competing in women’s sports and blatantly lied about waste at the USAID,” NRSC regional press secretary Nick Puglia said in a statement. “Shaheen is out of touch with New Hampshire.”
— Max Cohen
Walberg has ‘better feeling’ on teen privacy this year
Rep. Tim Walberg (R-Mich.) said he’s planning on reintroducing his bill to extend online privacy protections to many teen users soon, adding that he thinks the moment is ripe for it to pass.
“I think people want it,” Walberg said of the Children and Teens’ Online Privacy Protection Act. “I can’t say what leadership will do, but I have a better feeling that we can push this time.”
The Children and Teens’ Online Privacy Protection Act was supposed to be a layup last year, but as we scooped, it ran out of time in the House after passing the Senate.
The bipartisan teen privacy measure, which was reintroduced in the Senate earlier this week, would mandate that users up to age 16 can stop websites from collecting their data. It would also ban targeted ads to kids and teens.
Walberg has hinted the bill’s failure last year was due to it being paired with a comprehensive privacy bill, which faced skepticism from House GOP leadership. Privacy for all ages is a time-consuming undertaking, so if the two measures are twinned again, the teen data-protection will likely have a tough time.
The House Energy and Commerce Committee, which has jurisdiction on the issue, is starting over on privacy, however. The panel’s new chair, Rep. Brett Guthrie (R-Ky.), has also told us he wants to move on children’s issues faster than his predecessor. That could mean that Walberg’s bill has a head-start.
Walberg will still be leading the bill, according to Guthrie, despite having left Energy and Commerce to take the gavel of the House Education and Workforce Committee.
Rep. Kathy Castor (D-Fla.), Walberg’s Democratic cosponsor, is still on the committee as well.
“E&C has given us the blessing to do it again,” Walberg said. The Michigan Republican said he wanted to bring it back “as quickly as we can.”
We also caught up with Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.), one of the Senate cosponsors, who likewise said he was optimistic that House GOP leadership was more comfortable with the bill.
— Ben Brody
PRESENTED BY AMAZON
Amazon’s free skills training helped Lina build a career as a robotics trainer. Now she’s able to accomplish her goal of buying a house.
The Vault: What to expect at Faulkender’s hearing today
Senate Finance Committee members will have their shot this morning at grilling the nominee for the Treasury Department’s No. 2 job, Michael Faulkender — a Treasury Department official from President Donald Trump’s first term and a finance professor.
For Finance Committee Democrats, it’s a chance to dig in on concerns about Treasury’s plans, especially with DOGE at work in the department and at the IRS. On the Republican side, senators have a lot to talk about when it comes to their plans in the Treasury arena as they work to put a tax bill together.
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The Dems: We’re starting here because Democrats are in an interesting spot. After initially taking a permissive approach to Trump’s nominees, some Democrats are escalating their tactics to slow down or derail Trump picks as DOGE dismantles federal agencies.
Finance Committee Democrats announced they’d objected to scheduling Faulkender’s hearing because they believed the Trump administration made moves to “stonewall oversight” about DOGE and Elon Musk’s access to Treasury, the IRS and sensitive data systems. But Democrats will be at the hearing and are unlikely to boycott the process the way they did for some Trump nominees in 2017.
Finance’s top Democrat, Sen. Ron Wyden (Ore.), told us he plans to press Faulkender on turning over more information about the happenings at Treasury so that Democrats can engage in “vigorous oversight.”
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) released questions for Faulkender, citing concerns about his role overseeing the Paycheck Protection Program during Trump’s first administration and broader objections to Republicans’ agenda.
The GOP: Expect Republican senators to talk about their plans for the tax bill this year and other current issues, like the ongoing tax filing season. Also expect them to come to the defense of DOGE.
Here’s how Finance Committee Chair Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) will respond, according to his prepared remarks obtained by Punchbowl News:
Crapo will also argue that when Republicans sent letters to Treasury and the IRS during the Biden administration, it often took “several months” to get an answer.
– Laura Weiss
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PUNCHBOWL NEWS EVENTS
ICYMI: Capito on government funding, energy and more
Did you miss our event last night with Sen. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.)?
Capito, the chair of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, discussed government funding, energy policy and the prospects for permitting reform.
We’ll have some key takeaways in our midday newsletter. In the meantime, you can watch the full video here.
– Robert O’Shaughnessy
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Visit the archive
Read our latest series
Our newest editorial project, in partnership with Google, explores how AI is advancing sectors across the U.S. economy and government through a four-part series.
Check out our second feature focused on AI and cybersecurity with Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.).