Since their decisive losses in the 2024 election, Democrats have been seeking a way out of the political wilderness — to fight back against the deluge of President Donald Trump’s and Elon Musk’s attacks on the federal government, vital programs for constituents, and democracy itself. Regrettably, most of the strategies Democratic leaders have advocated have been misguided.

A prime example was the criticism of Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer and nine other members of the Senate Democratic Caucus who voted to keep the government funded through the end of the fiscal year.

After his decision and that vote, the Democratic Party did what it often does: Form a circular firing squad. People called for Schumer’s head on the proverbial platter for acting in a way he viewed as responsibly.

However, those calling for political revenge did not cite components of the bill they opposed, but merely their frustration that Trump and the GOP actually got bipartisan support for a bill. Opponents should rationally consider the consequences if they got what they wanted, that is, a government shutdown.

If the continuing resolution had not been passed, 2-3 million Americans in the federal workforce would have lost their paychecks immediately. And I’m speaking as a former federal employee who went through a 35-day government shutdown in 1995-1996. Even if you are deemed “essential” by a federal agency and are forced to work, you still do not get a paycheck during this period, which is doubly humiliating.

As Schumer pointed out, without passing a CR, Congress would in essence give Trump and Musk unlimited power to keep federal agencies closed in a shutdown, deeming whatever they did not like as nonessential and furloughing staff indefinitely.

Given what Trump and Musk have done without legal authority, imagine what they could have done if Congress did give them authority — through inaction — to keep federal agencies shuttered.

Moreover, the CR passed by Congress in 2025 is largely the same funding bill passed by Congress in 2024 — one written by a Democratic Senate majority and Republican House majority and signed into law by a Democratic president.

The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, the leading nonpartisan authority on federal spending, characterized the measure this way: “The full-year CR is roughly equivalent to FY 2024 funding with a few anomalies, including the removal of all Congressionally Directed Spending (“earmarks”) and other smaller shifts in funding between appropriations titles. The net result is a $10 billion increase in funding above FY 2024 levels and roughly flat total funding between the previous two CRs and this one.”

Rather than striving for pyrrhic victories such as opposing the CR, Democrats should follow the example led by New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker’s marathon speech on the Senate floor.

The brilliant Republican communications expert Frank Luntz said this about Booker’s speech: “He struck the kind of tone that grassroots Democrats are looking for. He gave them a reason to fight. He gave them a reason to stand up and say, this is my country too.” 

When the instruments of government have been denied you by the electorate, good-hearted opposition must be creative in their strategies. Too many lawmakers are following the same congressional rulebook, such as writing letters to the administration. Does anyone think Trump gives a hoot if 10 Democratic senators send him a letter? 

Rather, leaders who oppose Trump need to follow others who similarly faced difficult odds: Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Mahatma Ghandi.

Both of those leaders understood the value of symbolism and public relations, which ultimately led to their success in governmental bodies.

In an act of civil disobedience, Gandhi led a Salt March for 24 days where he and his followers marched 240 miles in protest of the British salt monopoly. Once they reached the coastline, Gandhi took some salt from the sea in defiance. 

Rosa Parks accomplished nothing by refusing to give up her seat on a Montgomery, Ala., bus. But her symbolic act of defiance motivated thousands to join the civil rights cause.

Democratic leaders need to throw out the old playbook and consider creative new tactics, in the spirit of Booker’s speech. The coming debate over the GOP reconciliation bill, which will likely include budget cuts decimating the lives of millions of Americans, will provide opponents ample examples that will demonstrate the true nature of Trump’s impact on the nation.

Bradford Fitch is a former Capitol Hill staffer, former CEO of the Congressional Management Foundation and author of “The Citizen’s Handbook for Influencing Elected Officials.”