Many tools at Dems’ disposal

Corporate Media Offer Excuses

for ‘Powerless’ Democrats

 

by Julie Hollar

A

s oligarchs Donald Trump and Elon

Musk continue their pursuit of power

unfettered by the Constitution, many

citizens wonder why their elected repre

sentatives in Washington are doing so little

to stop the administrative coup. They also

might well wonder why the media so rarely

ask the same question. 

 

As the White House shreds democratic in

stitutions, top Democrats like House Minority

Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) and Senate

Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.),

have largely advised their own members to

not make too much of a fuss—precisely the

opposite of what leading scholars of authori

tarianism are urgently calling for. 

 

Most reporting follows the tired, risk

averse corporate news script that simply

quotes Democrats and Republicans in lead

ership positions, offering that same lens of

Democratic (or even Republican!) congress

members having no power to stop or even

slow anything down. That neatly takes pres

sure off of those official sources to bother to

do anything to protect their constituents—

or, say, democracy—that might take some

political capital. 

 

‘Setting expectations too high’ 

 

Just over two weeks into the Trump/Musk

dismantling of democracy, Axios (2/5/25)

reported: 

 

Congressional Democrats’ offices are be

ing inundated by phone calls from angry

constituents who feel the party should be

doing more to combat President Trump

and his administration. 

 

Axios’ bullet-point-style reporting ex

plained “Why it matters”: 

 

Some lawmakers feel their grassroots base is

setting expectations too high for what Dem

ocrats can actually accomplish as the mi

nority party in both chambers of Congress.

Of course, others argue that “it matters”

because Democrats actually have the ability

to do much more—but that perspective ap

parently doesn’t matter at Axios.

Buttressing the do-nothing Democrat

position, Axios continued, “Democrats lack

many of the crucial legislative

and investigative tools afforded

to the congressional majority that

would give them the kind of pow

er needed to thwart Trump.” 

 

Many tools at Dems’ disposal 

 

No one would dispute that the mi

nority party can’t pass bills or is

sue subpoenas without Republican support,

as Axios pointed out. But as progressive

groups like Indivisible have countered, there

are still many tools at Democrats’ disposal.

In the Senate, any member can request

“unanimous consent” to help uncontrover-

sial measures move through more quickly. It

only takes one member to block unanimous

consent, and Republicans used it all the time

under President Joe Biden. After intense

pressure from constituents, Democrats fi

nally used this tool to slow down the confir

mation of OMB director (and Project 2025

architect) Russell Vought—only to then

grant unanimous consent to adjourn for a

long weekend, as if this were all business as

usual (Common Dreams, 2/7/25). 

 

Or take another Senate rule concern

ing quorum: a majority of its members (50

senators) must be present to be officially in

session. Democrats can’t deny quorum on

their own, but simply demanding a quo

rum check takes time, and if fewer than 51

of the 53 GOP senators are present (which

happens frequently), Democrats can walk

out, stopping all Senate work until enough

Republicans return to the chamber.

House Democrats also have powerful

tools—like withholding their votes to contin

ue funding the federal government unless the

GOP stops Trump and Musk’s lawlessness.  

 

‘It’s their government’ 

 

In its article, Axios did quote both Indivisi

ble and MoveOn, but only to say things like,

“Our member energy is high”—not to reveal

to readers what, exactly, they say Democrats

could be doing but aren’t.  

 

Other outlets didn’t even make the mini

mal effort of quoting any critics in their re

porting on supposed Democratic help

lessness. At NPR’s All Things Considered

(2/14/25), for instance, you could find this

headline: “Democrats Face Pressure to Fight

Trump Agenda, But Have Limited Power in

the Minority.” The piece quoted Jeffries, who

said in a press briefing: “What leverage do we

have? Republicans have repeatedly lectured

America—they control the House, the Sen

ate and the presidency. It’s their government.” 

 

Rather than question that premise, NPR’s

Barbara Sprunt called it “a reality that has

driven a disconnect between Democratic law

makers and many of their constituents.” The

only sources interviewed were Democratic

House members who shared that position.

When CNN’s State of the Union host

Jake Tapper (2/23/25) interviewed Jeffries,

instead of pressing him on Democrats’ inac

tion, he prodded him to give up the single

biggest tool House Democrats had at that

moment: “Are House Democrats going to

vote to keep the government open? Or are

you just going to let the Republicans be in

charge of all of it?” 

 

Dependence on corporate donors

 

It shouldn’t be surprising that top Dems would

shy away from doing anything to seriously in

terfere with Musk’s wrecking ball, given that

their party depends upon major corporate

donors that include those directly connected

to Musk’s rogue pseudo-agency, “DOGE.” 

 

As Sludge (2/24/25) reported, the House

Democrats’ campaign arm accepted over

$2.5 million in January—more than a quar

ter of that month’s haul—from the top lob

byist for Musk’s SpaceX and for Peter Thiel’s

Palantir, which has been helping to staff

DOGE and angling for federal contracts. 

■

 

Extra!

The Newsletter of FAIR—The Media Watch Group April 2025 Vol. 38, No. 3