Liberal activists had pointed out that the current spending fight was the last big chance for Democrats to extract concessions from Republicans until this fall, when the fiscal year 2026 appropriations process begins.
“Everyone needs to call their Dem Senator right now. They are starting to cave,” far-left Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) fretted Wednesday on X. “TODAY is the showdown.”
Before the Senate convened for Wednesday business, Democrats huddled during a cacus lunch to plot the next steps forward.
“At least for now, I don’t see the votes, based on my reading of the end of the meeting,” Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) told reporters afterwards. “I don’t see the votes there right now for passing their House Republican CR.”