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Democrats in Congress are vowing to fight President Trump's executive order on immigration and refugees with everything they have. But what do they have? They don't have control of either the House or the Senate, which means they cannot do too much when it comes to legislation. NPR's Scott Detrow reports that is frustrating many members of the party base.
UNIDENTIFIED PROTESTERS: (Chanting) No hate. No fear. Refugees are welcome here. No hate...
SCOTT DETROW, BYLINE: Over the weekend, Democratic lawmakers rushed to join protests. Monday evening, they organized their own on the steps of the Supreme Court.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
CHUCK SCHUMER: The order will make us less of America.
DETROW: Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and other Democrats are vowing to try and repeal it. That doesn't seem to be enough, even for the people who came to this rally.
TOM JOHNSON: We need real resistance, not just pep rallies and talk.
DETROW: That's Tom Johnson on the bullhorn.
JOHNSON: Right now tonight, I want them to come out and say Donald Trump needs to be impeached, and we're going to fight to impeach Donald Trump.
DETROW: Dawn Southard's request for Congress - no appeasement.
DAWN SOUTHARD: I'd like to see them stop all the nominations - all the nominations until they revoke this executive order.
DETROW: The thing is, Democrats just don't have the votes to do either. But under Senate rules, Democrats can block the Supreme Court pick that President Trump will name today. Whether or not they do that will be the first big test of whether Democratic leaders are listening to an increasingly angry base. Scott Detrow, NPR News. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
