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Rough days for Democrats in GOP-run Washington

The Vault: A stress test for Powell’s Capitol Hill ties

While spending cuts are in vogue, House chairs seek budget boosts

Johnson to brief Republicans on budget progress today

THE TOP

Rough days for Democrats in GOP-run Washington

Happy Tuesday morning.

The early days of the second Donald Trump era in Washington is a trying time for Democrats, especially party leaders.

Democrats are out of power, Trump is dominating the airwaves and his polls are good. Trump is slashing the federal workforce and dishing out executive orders while Democrats are stuck on the defensive.

And with former President Joe Biden and former Vice President Kamala Harris out of the picture, rank-and-file Democrats are taking out their frustration on their Hill leadership.

Fairly or not, the heat is on Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, who are bearing the brunt of intra-party criticism.

While party activists want a re-run of the 2017 “Resistance” and anti-Trump movement, Democratic leadership knows this is a very different moment. Trump won solidly in November, even carrying the popular vote. He led Republicans into the Senate majority. Trump’s polls are better than ever. Average Americans aren’t going to get upset that federal workers are being laid off, not with a $1.9 trillion deficit and $36 trillion debt.

Schumer and Jeffries are honing in on an economic message to explain exactly how Trump’s spending and tax cuts will affect their lives. Yet all the messaging in the world is unlikely to satisfy irate party activists who loathe Trump.

For now, Democrats will have to bide their time before two deadlines that allow them to gain back leverage: the March 14 government funding showdown and the upcoming debt-limit cliff.

Let’s start with Jeffries, who is facing his toughest leadership test yet since taking over from Nancy Pelosi.

Numerous House Democrats from across the ideological spectrum are questioning whether Jeffries’ cautious, low-key approach is the best antidote to Trump’s bombastic attacks.

“Our constituents are going to continue to call and ask for us to do more and we shouldn’t be insulted by it,” said Rep. Delia Ramirez (D-Ill.), a Congressional Progressive Caucus member. “We can’t have Congress business as usual … I certainly am going to be talking to our leadership about what we are able to demonstrate not just in our caucus, but to the general public.”

Rep. Vicente Gonzalez (D-Texas), a Blue Dog who often breaks with his party, said he’s had “some good meetings” with Jeffries so far, but it’s early to see how the New York Democrat will handle leading the party.

“We’ll see,” Gonzalez said of Jeffries. “His profile is going to increase as time passes. He’s new at this job, and you’ve got to give him some time.”

Behind the scenes, the criticism is even sharper, with rank-and-file Democrats complaining that Jeffries isn’t hitting Trump hard enough and is shutting out complaints during caucus meetings.

Jeffries is in his third year as House Democratic leader, but he’s a far cry from achieving Pelosi’s iconic status. During Trump’s first term, she often went viral for going head-to-head with the president.

Under heavy scrutiny from his own side, Jeffries has stepped up his rhetoric against Republicans.

Pelosi also said she has “great confidence” in Jeffries’ ability to be a key messenger for the party in his own way.

Jeffries, who unveiled a 10-part plan last week to combat Trump, downplayed colleagues’ concerns that he’s being too cautious. Jeffries told us Democrats’ work is still “ongoing,” and the party is prepared to take on “rightwing extremism that is being unleashed on the American people.”

In a House floor speech on Monday, Jeffries lambasted Republicans’ “bait and switch” tactics, saying they promised to “lower the high cost of living but do nothing about it.”

Jeffries’ allies also pointed to the New York Democrat’s calm composure as a positive counter to Trump’s recklessness.

“When you have critical times that we’re in, you need somebody at the helm that’s not just emotional and that is thinking it through and strategizing,” Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.) told us. “Discipline is absolutely key.”

Let’s turn to the Senate. Schumer, who was Democratic leader during Trump’s first term, recently drew backlash online for some cringe-inducing press conference moments that were criticized for inartful messaging. There are also complaints from party activists about Senate Democrats voting for Trump nominees.

To his colleagues, Schumer is touting how Democrats are using litigation, oversight, communication and legislation to combat the GOP. Here’s an interview he did with the NYT’s Mara Gay on this topic.

Senate Democrats know that these measures mean little when they’re in the minority. Their message to an angsty base? We feel your pain, but we’re doing the best we can.

“I understand their frustration. I’m just as distressed by what Trump is doing,“ Sen. Andy Kim (D-N.J.) said. “I wish we had more tools. Until we have one of the chambers of Congress, we’re not going to have quite the level that we want.”

Here’s Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), who’s won twice in the battleground state of Georgia:

A good encapsulation of the base’s frustration came at a recent pro-USAID rally when Democratic protesters drowned out senators with chants of “Do your job!”

— Mica Soellner, Max Cohen and John Bresnahan

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The Vault: A stress test for Powell’s Capitol Hill ties

Federal Reserve Chair Jay Powell testifies before the Senate Banking Committee this morning starting at 10 a.m. We expect this one to be more of a doozy than normal.

The early days of the Trump administration — combined with some of the Fed’s recent moves in response to it — have provided lawmakers with plenty to discuss with the central banker. We expect Powell to be asked about rate policy, Fed independence from Trump, the changing legal landscape of bank regulation, the fate of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and — of course — debanking.

Tensions in the nation’s capital are high, and that certainly includes anywhere in the general vicinity of the Federal Reserve. But Powell commands a distinct blend of sway, respect and rapport on the Hill. Whatever he says this week will get a lot of play, and much of Washington will be listening.

It helps that Powell is no stranger to the Hill, and he’s defined his approach to the job in part with frequent visits and calls with the nation’s top lawmakers. The last few weeks have been no exception.

We spotted Powell in the basement of the Dirksen Office Building a couple of days after his last press conference in January when the Federal Open Market Committee voted to hold interest rates steady.

Powell had a full calendar in December, too, meeting with officials like Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), Rep. Andy Barr (R-Ky.) and House Financial Services Committee Chair French Hill (R-Ark.). He also met with outgoing Sens. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) and Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio).

And Monday night, lawmakers including Sens. Jack Reed (D-R.I.) and Tina Smith (D-Minn.) said they’d met with Powell in recent days. Others said they’d spoken by phone.

“I think he’s done, frankly, a superb job,” Reed said. “Two years ago or more, everyone was saying, ‘Well, the question is how deep the recession’s going to be.'” For all the pain of inflation during the Biden years, lawmakers of both parties are grateful that unemployment didn’t spike as interest rates cranked upward.

But other lawmakers who’ve historically supported Powell, including Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), made clear they’d have tougher questions for the Fed chair. Many Democrats and outside policy experts have pressing questions about what the Trump administration and DOGE may or may not be doing to the plumbing of the U.S. fiscal system.

“The Federal Reserve is the agent for actually making those payments,” Van Hollen said. “I may talk a little about that.”

We also expect scrutiny from Democrats over policy changes at the Fed that came shortly before and after Trump’s inauguration, like wiping a webpage with information about diversity and inclusion. “The Fed is not governed by these executive orders,” the Maryland Democrat said. “So I would hope that they will exercise some independence.

Most Senate Banking Republicans — if not all — are withholding direct criticism for now. We’ll note there has been some chatter from the MAGA-verse about replacing Powell with former lawmaker and noted central banking skeptic Ron Paul (Ky.).

“It’s one of the toughest jobs in Washington,” Sen. Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.) said.

– Brendan Pedersen

THE HOUSE

While spending cuts are in vogue, House chairs seek budget boosts

House committee leaders are scouring the federal budget for spending cuts they can use to pay for President Donald Trump’s expansive agenda.

But there’s at least one place they would like to spend more — on themselves.

The House Administration Committee meets this morning for one of two hearings with chairs and ranking members who plan to ask for bigger budgets for their panels. The reasons? A desire to increase salaries for aides, hire additional staff and hold more field hearings.

The funding requests come as Republican committee chairs are cheering efforts by the Trump administration to cut off approved spending while GOP congressional leaders map out how it can slash more of the federal budget.

The House Oversight, Energy and Commerce and Ways and Means committees are among those asking for the bigger budgets this Congress. Each asked for more than $30 million during the next two years, according to a review of their requests.

Energy and Commerce asked for one of the biggest increases in dollar terms, about $4.5 million more than it requested for the 118th Congress. The panel plans to hire more staff, pay more to retain current aides and hold more field hearings, a source familiar with the request said.

The Natural Resources and Financial Services committees are seeking 10% increases. Transportation and Infrastructure is looking for a 7% boost, Agriculture wants 5% more and the Rules Committee is asking for a 2.5% raise.

The requests from Ways and Means and Oversight were both close to a 10% boost compared to last Congress. Oversight Chair James Comer (R-Ky.) said in his written testimony that it’s a “modest increase” of less than 10% and wasn’t adjusted for inflation.

Natural Resources Committee Chair Bruce Westerman (R-Ark.) wrote that field hearings and maintaining competitive staff salaries are behind his need for more funding. Financial Services Committee Chair French Hill (R-Ark.) similarly said his panel needs the hike to hire more full-time staff.

House Financial Services is adding 15 more staff members this Congress. As part of that hiring push, Hill wants to add a chief economist to examine monetary policy and Treasury debt market decisions. Hill also asked for a bigger travel budget so subcommittees can hold more field hearings.

Rules Committee Chair Virginia Foxx (R-N.C.) said her funding request is largely due to a more intense workload. Rules last year saw a 62% increase in amendment submissions, processing 13,900 in the last Congress, according to Foxx’s written testimony.

This year, Foxx is asking for around $8 million. Rules has requested and received flat funding for the past two years.

“Please understand that as a notoriously frugal member of Congress, this budget request came with the requisite diligence and thoughtfulness that you might expect from a Foxx Chairwomanship,” Foxx wrote.

— Samantha Handler

THE AGENDA

Johnson to brief Republicans on budget progress today

Speaker Mike Johnson intends to begin presenting the outlines of his budget reconciliation package today in the House Republican Conference meeting, even as he’s being squeezed by multiple factions on Capitol Hill.

Johnson believes he’s “very close” to a final budget resolution, which he crafted alongside House Budget Committee Chair Jodey Arrington (R-Texas). Arrington is under a tremendous amount of pressure from the House Republican rank and file, as the budget proposal needed to unlock President Donald Trump’s legislative agenda has been repeatedly delayed.

The House GOP leadership has considered several different budget proposals, ranging from $1 trillion in cuts to up to $2.5 trillion in cuts. They’re desperately in search of a sweet spot that could sate their conservatives and draw support from the conference’s moderates. We reported Monday that Republicans would have to cut Medicaid if they cut upwards of $2 trillion from the budget, which could spook moderates and would be a tough sell with the White House.

But Johnson also has to contend with the Senate. Senate Budget Committee Chair Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) is marking up his own budget resolution proposal on Wednesday and Thursday. Graham’s spending blueprint — blessed by Senate GOP leaders — only includes military, border and energy policy. That pushes the extension of the 2017 Trump tax cuts off to another time, which House GOP leaders don’t want to do.

Johnson said Monday evening that the “probability of success on all of the agenda items decreases dramatically” if Republicans follow Graham’s strategy.

One additional wrinkle. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise told us Monday evening that GOP leadership is again considering putting the debt limit in the reconciliation bill. The House Freedom Caucus, which is advocating two bills, is pushing for the debt limit’s inclusion as well. But most aides in the House GOP leadership do not believe it’s a feasible option.

It seems incredibly unlikely that the Budget Committee will be ready to mark up the spending blueprint this week. The committee needs to give a 48-hour warning before marking up a bill. And House GOP leaders will want to bring the budget to the floor the same week the committee marks it up.

— Jake Sherman

…AND THERE’S MORE

Steel watch: Sen. Jim Banks (R-Ind.) will deliver a keynote address at a dinner for the American Iron and Steel Institute tonight. Banks is one of the top congressional supporters of keeping U.S. Steel an American-owned company.

Banks’ steel speech will be his first major address since being sworn into the Senate.

President Donald Trump, who previously said he wouldn’t approve of Nippon Steel’s bid to buy U.S. Steel, now says he’d back the Japanese giant taking a minority stake in the Pittsburgh-based company.

— Max Cohen

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