The press secretary for Democratic leader, Sen. Chuck Schumer, used the budget defeat to mock Trump’s campaign promise to his supporters that "You’re going to be sick and tired of winning!"
The tweet likely reflects the Democrats’ eagerness to wide the growing pre-November split between the GOP’s business-first leaders and the party’s populist voters. That split could help the Democrats win sweeping electoral victories ‐ and a majority in the House.
In a relaxed conversation with Capitol Hill reporters on Thursday, Schumer said:
It’s a funny thing. In a certain sense, we’re able to accomplish more in the minority than we were when we had the presidency or even were in the majority ... We don’t have the House, we don’t have the Senate, we don’t have the presidency, but we produced a darn good bill for the priorities we have believed in.
House Minority leader Rep. Nancy Pelosi, also gloated, saying her side won because the GOP leadership pushed conservative GOP legislators out of the closed-door talks. According to the Washington Examiner:
"Much of our leverage has sprung from the fact that the Republicans ... they weren’t voting for this bill," Pelosi said. "That gave us leverage in all the negotiations. That gave the middle class a victory."
One result of the bipartisan leadership cooperation was that the bipartisan legislation blocked Trump’s border protection plans, giving him only 33 miles of new fencing to close up more than 1,300 miles of unrestricted border.
However, the bill also includes the priorities of the GOP’s business-first leadership, such as $78 billion in additional defense spending, and a tax-break for grain farmers. The GOP’s business-first wing worked with Democrats to sideline Trump’s border priorities which could reduce the supply of illegal immigrants to GOP-aligned businesses.