On March 15th, the United States Senate passed a continuing resolution, joining the House of Representatives in funding the federal government until September. This bill's passage in the Senate followed a divisive House session, with all Democrats but one voting against the CR and all but one Republican voting in favor.
However, things were somewhat different in the Senate, as nine Democrats and one independent crossed party lines to avoid the filibuster needed to kill the CR and pass the bill. Right-wingers got to enjoy watching Republicans force the opposition party to kowtow, with Democrats and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer caving to President Trump, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, and House Speaker Mike Johnson.
Following the passage of this CR, Republicans are celebrating, and rightly so, because not only will this piece of legislation fund Trump's agenda, but it has also cast a bad light on the Democrats to the point where most of their congressional conference was advocating for shutting down the government entirely.
As the dust has now settled in Washington, it is worth mentioning that, though this CR was proposed by Republicans and championed by Trump, its passage may not have been as widely supported as the decisive senatorial vote would make it seem. Many influential figures on the right, including Rep. Thomas Massie and Senator Rand Paul, who were no votes in both the House and the Senate, have taken to social media to attack the measure, stating that it is essentially a continuation of the Biden/Harris agenda.
Whether or not this is true depends on who you ask. That said, the debates this right-wing opposition sparked raise some rather pertinent questions for the future of the MAGA agenda: Is this the win for Republican voters we think it is regarding right-wing unity, and did this whole debacle have any effects on the Democrats that will bolster our success in the midterms?
For the GOP, this is a wait-and-see situation. For clarity, Republicans need to address that while Democrats have been awful on spending, they have contributed to the problems just as much, which is why fiscal hawk conservatives are a bit gun-shy with the CR. These are justifiable criticisms, and some that Republicans in Congress and the Trump Administration need to consider when using this federal budget to further their America First agenda.
To that point, a few weeks ago, I wrote a piece for Human Events about how Mitch McConnell and the rest of the old-school RINO crowd were effectively trying to derail the America First initiative. To ensure that this spending is not taken advantage of, the Congressional Republicans need to be ready to fulfill President Trump's campaign promise of making severe and long-lasting spending cuts with the help of DOGE, and not, as they have done many times before, waffle and try to kick the proverbial can down the fiscal road once again.
Of course, President Trump also plays a part in how this all shakes out in Congress. For instance, perhaps he reverses his stance on spending cuts in a couple of months and proposes a new budgetary strategy that involves increasing spending, or maybe he goes the other way and starts making cuts earlier than September with the help of Musk and the Freedom Caucus, who aided the CR in passing the House.
Since the sitting Commander in Chief is no stranger to calling an audible and changing his administration's strategic approaches overnight, anything is possible. But for now, there is no reason not to believe he means what he says about making cuts in September, so that I will give him the benefit of the doubt.
In summary, it is too early to tell if MAGA has the Republican lawmakers on lock, and we won't know for sure until we see how they handle the coming spending cuts later this year. So, maybe we should hold off on popping the champagne cork aimed at Chuck Schumer until the Republicans deliver on the DJT campaign promise of cutting the federal budget.
Moving on to the second aforementioned question, we don't know if this is a good sign for Republican unity, but there is still plenty to feel optimistic about, at least from a political strategist's perspective. What I mean by this is that the passage of this CR has driven the wedge that started with Rep. Al Green's censuring even deeper into the heart of the Democrat party. Put another way, just like ten Democrats, much to their party's chagrin, voted with Republicans to censure Green for his outburst at President Trump's address to Congress, so too have 10 Democrats voted with Republicans to pass this CR, and a lot of lefties are, put frankly, pissed off about it.
There is, allegedly, an entire war going on behind the scenes in the DNC right now, with many calling for Schumer to be primaried, but as juicy as that may or may not be, there is some apparent and public infighting going on that we can confirm. I.e., the infamous and always entertaining AOC has been on a media blitz lately, claiming that this CR creates a "slush fund" for the current administration, House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries told his fellow members of the House at a retreat last week that the Senate screwed them over and "left them at the altar," and some of the Democrats have even started to come after Schumer publicly.
To elaborate, Rep. Becca Balint recently stated, "I know I speak for so many in our caucus when I say Schumer is misreading this moment. The Senate Dems must show strength and grit by voting no." In addition to this, Rep. Steve Cohen stated, "I don't know where Schumer is coming from. ... It doesn't look good for the leader." This echoes Balint's position and suggests that primary waits in the shadows of Chuck Schumer's ominous future in senatorial leadership.
When it is all said and done, no one knows what is in store for our country a week from now, let alone six months from now. That said, the passage of this CR and the backlash it received from both sides leave us with a couple of takeaways.
The first is that America First conservatives should not celebrate too much, at least not yet. While it is acceptable to acknowledge that Trump's Administration will dictate funding from the CR, where it goes for his agenda, conservatives should hold our excitement and remain cautiously optimistic until we see how Congressional Republicans and federal bureaucrats handle the coming spending cuts, which most of the MAGA movement wants, in September. If Trump calls for spending cuts, and all of the Republicans join him, that would be terrific; however, if one or both change their tune and try to kick the financial can down the road to March 2026, then we have an issue.
As to the second takeaway, luckily for the GOP, the Democratic party continues to unravel before our eyes. It began with a simple censuring due to an interruption from Rep. Al Green during Trump's Joint Address to Congress, and now they are calling for their leader in the Senate to be primaried. This quick and fierce division amongst the party's elite could significantly impact whether or not this will be a temporary problem or a lasting problem. It could even hurt Democrats during the 2026 midterms and beyond if they do not find a way to work together again and quickly.
Anyway, at the end of the day, if this Democratic infighting continues, you and all of your right-leaning buddies should get the popcorn and prepare to see significant wins for the America First agenda coming soon.
