POLITICO: Freshman Dems feeling the heat as shutdown drags on

Nancy & Chuck the roof is on fire! Republicans "Let the Mother fricker Burn!"

Freshman House Democrats are ready to shut down the shutdown.

The new class of 60-plus members has been in Congress for less than week only to see the partial government shutdown consume the Capitol and grind nearly everything else to a halt — including action on their campaign promises to overhaul Washington and deliver for voters back home.

Now, as the shutdown drags into Day 19, the frustration is starting to reach a tipping point for some who fear the prolonged stalemate could do real political damage in vulnerable Democratic districts.

“If I am getting comments and contact from my constituents expressing concern that the Democrats are not prioritizing security, then I think we can do better,” said freshman Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-Va.).

The freshmen arranged an impromptu 90-minute meeting over the weekend at a retreat in rural Virginia because several new members were “freaking out” about the ongoing shutdown and the party’s strategy, according to a Democratic source who requested anonymity to speak candidly.

“I don’t think that it’s the Democrats in the House’s fault that we are in a shutdown,” said Rep. Colin Allred (D-Texas), who attended the huddle in Williamsburg, Va., and is one of two freshman class presidents. “But I do think it’s setting us back in terms of those coalitions we’re trying to build.”

One senior Democratic lawmaker who talked to multiple freshmen after the meeting said there is “a lot of drama” within the class about how to handle the shutdown.

“Do they stay in Washington or do they leave? Does our leadership understand that they’re getting blamed? Do they take their pay or do they give it back?” said the senior Democrat, explaining conversations with freshmen in recent days. “You have a very active freshman class. [And] leadership itself doesn’t agree on how to proceed. ...what bills to bring up, what order to bring them up."

But it’s not just freshmen who are questioning the strategy pursued by Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer. Some veteran Democrats are open to the idea of trying to broker a wide-ranging immigration deal that would include border wall money in exchange for Democratic priorities like securing protections for Dreamers.

The Illinois Democrat said he’s talked to Dreamers in his own district who have told him to “hold my nose and vote” for a deal.

“We are getting pressure from both sides of ‘don’t back down, don’t back down’ but also that these are real people who are hurting and my district is one of them with thousands of federal workers,” said Rep. Katie Hill (D-Calif.), one of two freshman representatives in House leadership.

“I’m not going to rule anything out, I really am not,” Allred added when asked if he would support some border wall funding in exchange for Democratic immigration priorities.