Watch and appreciate how Democrats are governing to pressure republicans [View all]

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...for whatever individual motive, eight senators, Dems and independents, exercised a political decision to join with republicans to temporarily fund the government.

We can fight about that among ourselves, endlessly, as it's clear so many people who like to flame and ignite Democrats against each other to deflect from or avoid the vexing task of actually dislodging and moving republicans are wont to do.

But maybe, instead, consider the political landscape that's emerged now that the only hook republicans and the WH had available to divert from their sophistry that Democrats voting against their CR meant they couldn't advance their budget on their own votes; either through a simple majority eliminating or neutering the filibuster requirement for the budget; or with a simple majority in reconciliation.

Thing is, putting aside that Trump has to agree to sign the thing, there's still debating and voting to be done over this compromise looming ahead in the House. And let's make this clear, the vast majority of Democrats in the House, as well as in the Senate that just passed this agreement, including the two Democratic leaders, are still strongly against the resolution.

Moreover, the political conversation and debate is now firmly on Americans' health care costs and the republicans' efforts to make life harder and more expensive for all Americans, not just Democrats. That's a direct result of the two Democratic leaders' relentless drumbeat about the ACA tax credits and their transition over to defending SNAP benefits.

Remember, both of those were already cut viciously by the republican budget and indifference and inactivity to address those concerns before the shutdown. Dem leaders and others have firmly established who is responsible for these things which are hurting Americans and the election victories demonstrate that political progress in bring Americans along with us, all the way through to showing up and voting.

That's no small measure of progress for an opposition party.

Even more interesting is there's still the swearing in of Raúl Grijalva's daughter pending, ostensibly held up by Maga Mike Johnson to avoid a vote on releasing the Epstein files. Now the onus is back on republicans to reopen the House of Representatives they've deliberately kept in recess, with their republican members on vacation for nearly seven weeks now.

...here's Leader Jeffries putting it in perspective today:

"I certainly believe that Senate Democrats, the overwhelming majority of Senate Democrats led by Chuck Schumer, have waged a valiant fight over the last seven weeks, defeating the partisan Republican spending bill 14 or 15 different times, week after week after week, and continue to oppose this effort of passing legislation that does not address the Republican health care crisis by extending the Affordable Care Act tax credits.

But the fight is getting ready to shift back to the House where we're going to work hard to hold the Republicans accountable. All of these loudmouths on the House Republican conference side who's been saying for the last several weeks that we have to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits. Now is their chance.

This week they have to come back from their seven week prolonged taxpayer funded Republican vacation. They can no longer hide. They can no longer hide. Mike Johnson apparently still hiding. Refused to even answer a single question today. That's extraordinary.

But they're not going to be able to hide this week when they return from their vacation.

Speaking of the House, uh, Speaker Johnson has not committed holding a vote on subsidies even though the Senate agreement would have them do so. What do you say to that? And then also, what do you think that would do to the relationship between Republicans and Democrats on the House?

Well, the failure of Republicans to address the health care crisis that they've created in the House and in the Senate is no surprise because House and Senate Republicans multiple times this year have been given an opportunity to vote to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits. And multiple times this year already in the context of the debate around their one big ugly bill, they voted against unanimously voted against extending the Affordable Care Act tax credits.

So over the last several weeks, it's become increasingly difficult from the for them to hide from their position as it relates to the healthcare of the American people. And, House Democrats, joined by our colleagues in the Senate, we're not going to stop the fight. We're going to continue to lean into the fight over the next few days and beyond until we actually get an outcome that makes life better for workingclass Americans."


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