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Abbreviated Pundit Roundup: 'Schumer Surrender' angers Democrats but the decision has caucus support [1]
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Date: 2025-03-15
Sahil Kapur/NBC:
Democratic anger over 'Schumer surrender' shows party's deep divisions on how to take on Trump The Senate minority leader finds himself sharply at odds with many members of his caucus, fellow Democrats in the House and liberal activists. In an extraordinary move, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, of California, called on Senate Democrats to defy him and reject the GOP bill, while continuing to push for a shorter-term bill, known as a continuing resolution, or CR, to keep the government funded ahead of a midnight deadline. “Democratic senators should listen to the women,” Pelosi said in a statement. “Appropriations leaders Rosa DeLauro and Patty Murray have eloquently presented the case that we must have a better choice: a four-week funding extension to keep [the] government open and negotiate a bipartisan agreement. America has experienced a Trump shutdown before — but this damaging legislation only makes matters worse.”
No one is defending this heinous CR, and I’m not defending Chuck Schumer. The only debate is whether a shutdown is worse, with no end point visible, leaving Trump deciding what’s essential and stays on. Some Democratic Senators think that’s worse, and they voted accordingly.
Schumer, as leader, takes the heat for his decision. House Democrats clearly feel differently.
Burgess Everett/Semafor:
Second-guessed but still in charge: Schumer gets his McConnell moment Burgess’s view: Being Senate minority leader is often easier than running the chamber. Usually it’s about rallying the troops to vote no, criticizing the floor schedule and creating wedges that split the majority party. But every once in a while, the minority leader (Schumer, in this case) faces a choice that leads to nationwide second-guessing. It happened to McConnell several times, and it could easily happen to Schumer again soon. Still, it’s a little confounding to see so many Democrats essentially calling for a government shutdown. They have few concrete red lines in talks with Republicans other than a month-long spending patch. It’s not exactly a winning hand going into a shutdown fight when Trump’s handling of the economy is the big story across the country.
To reiterate, Schumer didn’t think Democrats could win on this issue. He might well be wrong, but he’s not a coward. From the Semafor piece: But one thing is clear: While Schumer faces protests at his home and office, intensely personal attacks and renewed talk about a primary challenge from Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, there’s no groundswell in his caucus to remove him. “He’s taking the hit for saying, ‘I don’t want to risk the shutdown’ … people respect that Schumer did what he thought was absolutely right. That’s what leaders should do, right?” asked Sen. John Hickenlooper, D-Colo. Hickenlooper added that the Democratic “base is agitated, and they’ll make it known to all of us, but said that “I don’t see him as in peril in any way. I think he made a tough decision.” Paul Waldman/The Cross Section: Democrats Must Start Project 2029 Right Now
The Biden administration's worst mistake was forgetting they were operating under a ticking clock. Don't make that mistake again. But surely no one on the right is feeling doubt about Project 2025 today. Yes, they had to endure some temporary bad press. But in the end it didn’t hurt Trump too much, and it was well worth the time and effort it took. It really has provided a blueprint they are now following in their extraordinary attempt to dismantle the American government and just about everything it does to benefit the American public. In other words, Project 2025 is doing exactly what it was intended to do. The process of creating it helped conservatives clarify their goals, and as important as its specific recommendations was the tone it set. The implicit but unmistakable theme of the document was this: Once we take power, we are going to go absolutely berserk. No right-wing fantasy will be off the table. There is no limit to the glorious destruction we will inflict upon the federal government and everything it does. x The president just rattled off a series of grossly inaccurate statistics suggesting violent crime,
Including murder, went up over the last four years. No serious criminologist believes that and the data doesn’t support it. And every murder is counted. — Ken Dilanian (@KenDilanianNBC) March 14, 2025
ABC News:
Trump rails against prosecutions, touts J6 hostages in visit to Justice Department He said his predecessors had turned it into the "Department of Injustice." President Donald Trump visited the Justice Department on Friday -- a move that comes as he has sought to assert control over the nation's top law-enforcement agency that brought two historic prosecutions against him, which were thwarted by his 2024 election victory. He used the setting to repeat his now familiar accusation that the Justice Department was "weaponized" to attack him. "We must be honest about the lies and abuses that have occurred within these walls. Unfortunately, in recent years, a corrupt group of hacks and radicals within the ranks of the American government obliterated that trust and goodwill built up over generations," he said. "They weaponized the vast powers of our intelligence and law enforcement agencies to try and thwart the will of the American people."
x Trump declares at the DOJ that he believes CNN and MSNBC are ILLEGAL — Acyn (@acyn.bsky.social) 2025-03-14T20:11:18.222Z Convicted felon has thoughts to share. CNN:
Americans are negative on Trump’s handling of economy As markets slide and investors worry in response to Trump’s trade policies, a 56% majority of the public disapproves of his handling of the economy, worse than at any point during his first term in office. By contrast, the 51% who now say they approve of his work on immigration – headlined by stricter enforcement efforts – is 7 points higher than at any point during his first term. Americans are closely divided over Trump’s performance so far in handling the federal budget and managing the federal government – 48% approve on each, with about half disapproving – while giving him lower ratings for his work on health care policy (43%), foreign affairs (42%) and tariffs (39%). Trump’s overall job approval rating currently stands at 45%, with 54% disapproving, in line with the numbers he saw in March 2017 and matching his highest ratings for his first term in office. Overall, 35% of Americans say things in the country are going well, a rise from 29% in January, reflecting a surge in positive sentiment within the GOP. His ratings remain highly polarized, with Republicans roughly 10 times as likely as Democrats to approve of his job performance.
x CNN POLL CONDUCTED BY SSRS
March 6-9
How Trump is Handling
U.S.-Russia Relationship
Approve 41%
Disapprove 59%
Margin of error: +/-4.6% pts
March 6-9
How Trump is Handling
Situation in Ukraine
Approve 44%
Disapprove 55%
March 6-9
How Will… — Manu Raju (@mkraju) March 14, 2025
Shawn Mulcahy/Bolts:
New Chicago Prosecutor Empowers Police to File More Charges Without Review In a predominantly Black area of Chicago, police can now directly file gun charges without a prosecutor’s approval. The new program rolls back a process that serves to check misconduct. The program was designed jointly by the CPD and by the county prosecutor’s office, which is headed since early December by State’s Attorney Eileen O’Neill Burke. It launched on Jan. 1, according to a CPD directive obtained by Bolts through a Freedom of Information Act request. In the two months since the initiative launched, the CPD has used it to file at least 22 felony cases without review, the state’s attorney’s office told Bolts. While the pilot only exists in one of Chicago’s 25 police districts so far, officials plan to review the pilot every three months and could expand it city- or county-wide. The move is one of the clearest signs yet that O’Neill Burke, who took office in December, is looking to adopt a more trusting attitude toward police than her more progressive predecessor Kim Foxx. Elected in the aftermath of a police officer’s murder of Laquan McDonald, Foxx promptly drew heavy attacks from the city’s police union. She rolled out policies meant to better check the police, for instance publicly releasing a list of officers with a history of misconduct and reforming the county’s search warrant policy, even as her office drew criticisms for glaring blind spots.
Heather Cox Richardson on Donald Trump:
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