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‘I’m not a cheap date’: Dem lawmakers vow to play hardball over DOGE

February 12, 2025 | | Print Article

Congressional Democrats are once again vowing to play hardball during next month’s government shutdown battle unless President Donald Trump and DOGE boss Elon Musk bow down to their demands.

“I’m not a cheap date,” Rep. Jim McGovern, a Democrat, told The Hill. “They want to run and tell everybody that they have this huge mandate — that they can do whatever the hell they want to do.”

“Well, if that’s the case then they should put their mandate-pants on and do whatever the hell they want to do. But if you want us to be helpful, then you have to engage us. And we’re not going to just be there to bail you out,” he added.

The threat is legitimate because Senate Republicans will absolutely need Democrat support to bypass the filibuster and bring a spending bill to President Trump’s desk. House Republicans may also need some Democrat help.

“[W]hile Speaker Mike Johnson could get legislation through the House without support across the aisle, he’s been forced to cut a deal with Democrats on spending repeatedly because of divisions among his own members,” Politico notes.

The problem is that Democrats are demanding that funding for the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), public education, and other Democrat-favored programs not be touched by Musk’s DOGE team.

“For us to support a deal we have to really rein in these rogue billionaires because I think it is outrageous what’s going on now,” Rep. Juan Vargas, another Democrat, whined. “The price that the Republicans have to pay here is going to be very, very high — to bring some sanity back to government — because I think at the moment it’s insane, all of these executive orders, all of these illegalities.”

“The courts are even saying, ‘I’ve never seen anything like this. So we can’t be a cheap date, and we better not be a cheap date,” he added.

Worst case scenario, in case Republicans aren’t able to push through a full spending bill, they could always resort to passing another continuing resolution (CR) to keep the government open — though even in that case, some Democrat support would still be needed.

“If they need Democratic votes to pass the CR, then we need to have a very, very high price,” radical Democrat Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez told The Hill.

“The Republicans have the majority in the House, the Senate, and the White House, and if they want to pass a CR according to their agenda and their way, they need to use their votes. Now, if they need Democratic votes, then we need to have a Democratic agenda included in there,” she added.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Republican, sees a lot of irony in Democrats’ sudden threat to shut down the government.

“It looks like the Democrats are trying to set up a government shutdown, and I think it’s terribly irresponsible and hypocritical because they’re the ones that howl all the time when we get close to a shutdown about how devastating it would be,” he told The Hill.

“The way they’re explaining it is they want to somehow fight back against President Trump and what he’s doing in the administration by using government funding as a weapon, and that is not what the American people need,” he added.

Meanwhile, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer has also been warning of a shutdown unless Republicans “negotiate” with him.

“Democrats stand ready to support legislation that will prevent a government shutdown. Congressional Republicans, despite their bluster, know full well that governing requires bipartisan negotiation and cooperation,” he wrote in a “Dear Colleague” letter Monday.

“Of course, legislation in the Senate requires 60 votes and Senate Democrats will use our votes to help steady the ship for the American people in these turbulent times. It is incumbent on responsible Republicans to get serious and work in a bipartisan fashion to avoid a Trump Shutdown,” he added.

Vivek Saxena
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