Subject: "An attempt to seize power"
Kinda seems like...

Chris Murphy

A Democratic pulse? A Democratic pulse!

Trump has been able to get away with so much because his opposition is a loathed and exhausted Democratic Party that doesn’t know what to do or why to get out of bed in the morning. In that sense, the funding-freeze debacle was the first bit of good news for Democrats since November, at last serving as a galvanizing event for the remnants of the Resistance. Democrats in Congress got the message out about the consequences of the freeze for specific people and programs, as well as Trump’s overarching plan to seize the power of the purse from Congress. The senator who has most caught our attention this week is Chris Murphy, of Connecticut, demonstrating a sense of urgency and attention that had been missing. Speaking to reporters this week about the “temporary” nature of the spending freeze—before the OMB memo was walked back—Murphy explained why that was “bullshit,” pointing to the looming impoundment fight in the public and the courts. “This is a designed constitutional crisis,” he said. “He wants to seize control of this government, he wants to seize control of federal spending, so that he can hand money to his billionaire friends and people that are loyal to him, and he can suspend payments to states where loyalty is not pledged. Let’s see this for what it is: This is an attempt to seize power.” Democrats understandably are trying to be patient about where they pick and choose their battles with an administration that’s purposefully overwhelming them. This week, they finally began to draw lines. Slate