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Politics|Democrats Step Up Trump Resistance as Base Hungers for More of a Fight
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/17/us/politics/democrats-trump-resistance.html
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Out of power in Congress, Democrats who were slow to fight back against President Trump are increasingly finding ways to do so. But activists want much more.
April 17, 2025, 1:54 p.m. ET
Representative Jamie Raskin, Democrat of Maryland, has a mantra for the second Trump era: “A rally a day keeps the fascists away.”
Mr. Raskin, who developed a following for his role on the House select committee on the Jan. 6 attack, has attended 52 rallies and marches since President Trump’s inauguration, and regularly speaks at town halls in red districts where Republicans are no longer showing up.
“There’s a regime of fear that’s been brought down on society,” Mr. Raskin said in an interview. “People need to see leaders and organizers standing up and speaking with authority against what’s happening.”
As Mr. Trump approaches the 100th day of his presidency, Democratic leaders in Congress, who were slow out of the gate to stand up to a president unbound, are beginning to find ways of using what little leverage they have to fight back.
Hundreds of lawmakers have signed onto half-a-dozen court briefs challenging Mr. Trump’s unlawful executive directives; others have held “shadow” hearings highlighting administration moves that have trampled on the rule of law and eliminated crucial federal programs. In the Senate, they have used rules to slow down the confirmation of some lower-level administration officials.
Even when they are destined to lose, some Democratic lawmakers have succeeded in spotlighting their resistance to the administration. Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey drew outsize attention with a record-breaking, 25-hour speech on the Senate floor, a physical feat of stamina and bladder control that resonated widely — racking up millions of likes on TikTok — even if it did not actually block the president from doing anything.
