For Mr. Schumer and his leadership team, the strategy is not merely about making Republicans squirm. The Democratic leader, who has long inspired mistrust from certain elements of the partys progressive wing and wants to fend off a primary challenge for his own seat in 2022, needs to show the Democratic base that he is willing to fight, even if a short-term victory in the confirmation battle is out of reach.
Progressive groups mobilizing around the Supreme Court vacancy have circulated a memo outlining more than a dozen stunts Democrats could employ in the House and Senate to try to trip up Republicans, including impeachment and forcing the Senate to waste time taking roll-call votes on routine matters.
We urge you to employ every tactic at your disposal to prevent a premature confirmation, including making use of tools the House might wield to support action in the Senate, Demand Progress, one such group tied to the memo, wrote in a letter to Mr. Schumer and Ms. Pelosi on Thursday. This may even necessitate keeping members of the House of Representatives in Washington, D.C., past their scheduled adjournment at the end of this week.
Anticipating a possible rift, Mr. Schumer made sure to invite Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, the influential progressive, to a news conference outlining the coming fights two days after the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. It was highly unusual for a party leader to be standing alongside a freshman House member, but the message was clear: Democrats, Mr. Schumer said, are unified.read more
Spotlighting Health Care, Democrats Seek to Use Court Fight to Damage Republicans
