Back to Resources

EXPLAINER: How Senate Democrats Can Delay & Defy Trump's Agenda with Procedural Hardball

Trump’s blitzkrieg power grab begs the question: what, if anything, can Senate Democrats in the minority do? Are they powerless? Republicans in the Senate love to act like their majority gives them unchecked power—but it doesn’t. The rules of the Senate are designed to protect the rights of the minority, and Democrats have tools to grind Senate business to a halt to delay and defy the Trump-Musk coup.

The three biggest weapons? Blanket opposition, quorum calls, and blocking unanimous consent—parliamentary guerrilla tactics that can slow, stall, and obstruct at every turn. Here’s how they work—and why Democrats need to keep using them aggressively.

Senate Democrats Showed Us Their Power During Russ Vought's Confirmation Battle—Now They Need to Keep It Up

Senate Democrats held the floor for 30 straight hours to speak out against Trump’s extremist Office of Management and Budget (OMB) nominee, Russell Vought. And ultimately, their caucus stayed together to vote no unanimously. That was a good step to show their constituents they're ready to fight. But the fight is far from over, and there are plenty of Senate Democrats who need to find their spines (Remember: 22 Senate Democrats voted with Republicans to confirm Douglas Collins to lead the Department of Veterans Affairs just a few days before they voted on Russ Vought).

Now, as Trump’s takeover of the Consumer Financial Protect Bureau has left millions defenseless against big banks, payday lenders, and credit card companies, the Senate will move to consider the nominations of some of his most dangerous nominees: Kash Patel, Tulsi Gabbard, and RFK Jr. Senate Democrats need to keep using every tool in their arsenal to delay and defy the Trump-Musk coup for as long as it takes. No business as usual. No cooperation. Period.

Blanket Opposition: No Cooperation with Trump’s Power Grab

It’s really that simple: there’s no excuse for Senate Democrats to be confirming any of Trump’s nominees for any agency while this power grab continues. It doesn’t matter if the nominee is a “reasonable Republican” set to run a non-controversial agency. These nominees have repeatedly stated their loyalty to Trump and his agenda - it’s the number one thing he looks for in a cabinet official. Putting them into some of the most powerful positions in the federal government is just slapping a big ol’ rubber stamp on the coup attempt. Democrats alone can't block nominees - Republicans have the majority. But they should not be complicit in the coup attempt and force Republicans to put up every vote for their agenda.

How It Works

  • Every Democrat votes “NO” on every Trump nominee. As long as this crisis continues, forcing Republicans to put up every vote on every nominee, putting extra pressure on any absences or intra-GOP divisions.

  • Democrats make clear they’re happy to be reasonable if the coup is abandoned. If Republicans want an easier path for lower-profile nominees, there’s an easy way to do that - stop the MAGA money grab.

How Democrats Can Use This to Fight Back

  • Seriously, just vote “NO” each time. Every nominee, every vote. The legislative clerk will call your name on the Senate floor during roll call, and you respond by saying “NO.” You know how to do this.

  • Make the case loudly and publicly about why you’re doing this. This is how you take the fear and uncertainty of your constituents seriously.

  • See Step 1 and just vote “NO.” Don’t overthink it. 

Weaponizing Quorum Calls: No Majority, No Business

Most of the time, senators are not on the Senate floor. But technically, the Senate is not allowed to conduct official business unless a majority of senators (51 if all seats are filled) are present. That’s called a quorum, and it’s the foundation of Senate procedure. If a quorum isn’t present, the Senate grinds to a halt. The friendly thing to do is NOT to ask if there is a quorum - that’s how MOST business moves forward in the Senate. But Senate Democrats can use their power in the minority to call for a quorum and cause massive disruptions by constantly demanding quorum calls and even walking out to deny Republicans the ability to govern.

How It Works:

  • Any senator can call for a quorum check at any time, forcing the clerk to conduct a roll call of all 100 senators. This eats up valuable floor time.

  • If fewer than 51 senators respond, Senate business stops until a majority returns.

  • If a quorum is missing, the Senate has only two options: Adjourn and shut down completely or send the sergeant-at-arms to forcibly retrieve missing senators.

  • Even if a quorum is met, calling for repeated checks can gum up the works, forcing Republicans to scramble and stay in the chamber to keep things moving.

How Democrats Can Use This to Fight Back

  • Deny a quorum to completely freeze Senate business. If Republicans don’t have 51 votes on the floor, Democrats can walk out, preventing the Senate from doing anything at all.

  • Force Republicans to waste time by making them repeatedly prove they have a quorum instead of passing harmful legislation or confirming extremist judges.

  • Make governing a miserable experience for Republicans by keeping them tied up in procedural delays instead of letting them cruise through their agenda.


Blocking Unanimous Consent: Every Action Must Take the Maximum Time

Unanimous consent is the grease that keeps the Senate moving. Normally, the Senate runs on handshake deals—routine matters like scheduling votes, moving bills forward, or skipping over procedural steps all happen only if no senator objects. That’s called unanimous consent (UC)—and if even one Democrat objects, it forces the Senate to go through long, time-consuming processes to get anything done.

How It Works:

  • Any senator can object to a unanimous consent request, forcing Republicans to take the slowest and most painful route to pass anything.

  • Blocking UC forces roll-call votes, debates, and delays on even the most basic motions, eating up hours (or days) of floor time.

  • It kills fast-track confirmations. Many of Trump’s judicial nominees sailed through last time because Democrats didn’t force votes on each one. This time? Make them work for it.

How Democrats Can Use This to Fight Back

  • Refuse to give an inch. Block every unanimous consent request and force the GOP to waste precious time on every single step of the process.

  • Make them vote on EVERYTHING. Republicans want to ram through their agenda as quickly as possible? Too bad. No more rubber-stamping—force votes, force debate, make them suffer.

  • Turn the Senate into a procedural minefield. If Trump wants to rule by executive order and the Senate GOP wants to confirm his cronies, make every action a war of attrition.

What Will This Get Us? Time

What Trump is doing is deeply unpopular. The reason he is doing so much so fast is to “flood the zone” and avoid allowing sufficient public pressure to build to stop him. The name of the game here is speed. 

While Senate Democrats are in the minority and can’t unilaterally stop Senate business, they can slow it down to a crawl. Trump and the Senate GOP want speed. Our goal is to slow things down to allow public attention to focus on what exactly is happening - and translate that attention into backlash.

Why Aren’t Senate Democrats Already Doing This?

Congressional Democrats are, at heart, institutionalists. They believe that their job is to uphold decorum, to build up trust in federal agencies, and to pursue normalcy. If what they were up against was one Ted Cruz-type who was willing to burn it down, that might be a workable approach. But this is a full MAGA takeover of every function of the federal government - and Dems are still responding as if they can click their heels together three times and wish for normal. Basically, their inaction comes to three reasons:

  1. Dems are still playing by the old rules, trying to demonstrate that they’re reasonable in the face of an unreasonable MAGA party. In their minds, this is how they win back power - ignore the coup, and hope their mealy-mouthed statements help win majorities in 2026 and 2028. But nobody sees your boring statement, and we’re losing power to Trump, Musk, and their cronies every day that Dems don’t fight back.
  2. Dems are attempting an “inside” strategy to convince Republicans like Collins to go along with them. We’re past an inside game. A coup is underway, and we need a full fight.
  3. What we’re recommending here is a pain in the ass to do, and Senators don’t want to do it on a personal level. Tough shit - put on some sneakers, get out the cots, and get ready to eat a lot of delivery pizza - now’s the time to show the hell up. 


The Bottom Line: Dems Need To Fight Back—And We’ve Got To Convince Them To Do It 

Trump and the GOP are counting on Democrats to play by the old rules while they bulldoze democracy. 

But the real power of the Senate isn’t just in votes—it’s in procedural warfare.

The more Democrats disrupt, obstruct, and delay, the less damage Republicans can do. This is about using every tool available to fight back, slow them down, and make governing so painful for Republicans that they can’t steamroll their agenda.

We need Senate Democrats to step up and shut it all down. They have the tools. They just need the will. But to find the courage to use those tools, they need to hear from all of us - their constituents. That’s the role we play.

Tell them: Use every procedural weapon in the arsenal. No business as usual. No cooperation with extremists. No easy path for Trump’s agenda.

Related Resources