Democrats face pressure to fight Trump agenda, but have limited power in the minority

Congressional Democrats have been front and center at recent rallies, blasting the Trump administration's slash-and-burn remake of the federal government. 

But at a protest in response to the furlough of nearly all employees of the U.S. Agency for International Development, lawmakers were at times drowned out by an agitated crowd chanting, "Do your job" and "What are you going to do about it?"

It highlights the tension that congressional Democrats face with a base pushing them to be more aggressive in combating the Trump administration — but with very limited power as the party in the minority.

"I'm trying to figure out what leverage we actually have," House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., said at a press briefing this month. "What leverage do we have? Republicans have repeatedly lectured America — they control the House, the Senate and the presidency. It's their government."

It's a reality that has driven a disconnect between Democratic lawmakers and many of their constituents. House Democrats say the phones in their offices have been ringing off the hook with constituents and grassroots supporters demanding action.

"It's clear from talking to my constituents and people who interact with my office — it hasn't really totally sunk in that Republicans are in charge of the House, the Senate and the White House," said Rep. Becca Balint, D-Vt., a member of the House progressive caucus.

While the minority party can sometimes slow things down procedurally — particularly in the Senate — the concrete actions it can take to thwart the will of unified government are extremely limited. Democrats cannot block President Trump's nominees (who have been sailing through), they can't schedule hearings and they cannot block Republican bills.

Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., part of the centrist New Dems coalition, says spending time talking about what the party "can't do" isn't effective.

"That's a mistake," he said. "Let's develop a credible narrative to what we're going to do instead of Trump, while at the same time pounding him for the terrible stuff that he is doing," he said.

Democrats need to construct an overarching narrative and theme and share it with new audiences, not just their core base, Smith said.

"The narrative is that Trump is doing this because he wants power and autocratic control of the government. He's not doing it for the American people. He's doing it for himself," he said. "And [Elon] Musk isn't doing what he's doing for the American people — he's doing it for himself."

Looking to the courts

This month, a federal judge in Washington state blocked President Trump's attempt to restrict birthright citizenship after a challenge by several state attorneys general. Above, the federal courthouse is pictured in Seattle on Feb. 6.

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Rep. Melanie Stansbury, D-N.M., said with restricted power as the minority, Democrats are closely tracking efforts underway in the courts to pause or block federal action.

"The only way to essentially stop them in their tracks is to use the courts," she said, adding that members of Congress don't have standing to sue the administration themselves.

Democratic state attorneys general and coalitions from Democracy Forward, unions and other advocacy groups have been putting up roadblocks to the Trump administration's agenda and have been winning preliminary court battles on things like preserving birthright citizenship, unfreezing billions of dollars in grants and keeping some federal workers in their jobs.

Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland, the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, said members can and will get involved on amicus briefs in appellate litigation.

"I'm working with other ranking members, and we have agreed that we will make it possible for every member of our caucus, and any Republicans who want to join us, to participate in amicus efforts to make it clear that this is an all-hands-on-deck moment for democracy," he said.

Ramping up messaging efforts

Rep. Joe Neguse, D-Colo., speaks during a news conference on Capitol Hill on Nov. 19. Neguse is helping coordinate a push by the House Democratic leadership to ramp up its messaging efforts.

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As litigation continues, Democratic members are holding tele-town halls that they say are full of attendees trying to figure out how new federal policies will affect their lives.

Freshman Rep. Julie Johnson, D-Texas, said that as time passes, more Americans will feel the effects of the president's actions, like increased tariffs on aluminum and steel.

"One of the members was saying how a small craft brewery is going to feel the impacts of being able to get aluminum to can their beer," Johnson said. "Trust me — when America's small craft breweries go down, people will feel it."

The House Democratic leadership is also ramping up its messaging efforts with a new rapid-response task force led by Rep. Joe Neguse of Colorado.

Neguse, a member of the leadership, described the task force as a "clearinghouse" within the caucus to develop strategies on its response to various actions from the Trump administration.

"We've also introduced a series of bills we believe would ameliorate and ultimately stop these draconian actions that are unlawful," he said. "We just need three Republicans to join our efforts."

Asked how likely that is given that GOP lawmakers have largely deferred to the Trump administration, even when it has meant potentially eroding their own power, Neguse said there shouldn't be an assumption that "our public institutions are impervious to public opinion and to the responsiveness of constituents."

"My hope is that we can win in the court of public opinion," he said.

Some Democrats are also eyeing a date hovering on the horizon as a potential piece of leverage.

The government runs out of funds on March 14, and Republicans may once again need to rely on Democratic votes to get legislation over the finish line because of their own narrow majority and infighting.

But even so, there's a split among Democrats about whether to use that leverage, as some warn they don't want to be blamed for a government shutdown.

NPR's Luke Garrett contributed to this report.
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