Hook paragraph: Demand Justice, a progressive group, has begun a weeklong advertising campaign that began on Wednesday, spending more than $1 million to push Senate Democrats and independent Sen. Angus King to take a stronger stand against President Donald Trump.
Demand Justice’s Targeted Campaign
Demand Justice is targeting only senators who are not up for reelection next year: Pa. Senator John Fetterman, New Hampshire Sen. Maggie Hassan, and independent Sen. Angus King of Maine, who caucuses with Democrats.
Threat of Escalation
Group president Josh Orton said the current blitz is merely an opening salvo. He warned that the effort could expand to include more vulnerable lawmakers and those with presidential ambitions unless they “find their moral compass, and stand up to Trump.” Orton added, “We want to change Senate Democratic behavior so that they begin acting in a more moral way and in a more politically expedient way.”
Context: Senate Democrats’ Recent Actions
The push follows eight members of the Senate Democratic caucus—Fetterman, Hassan, and King among them—joining Republicans to end a government shutdown. The move angered large swaths of the party’s base and has intensified debate over how best to confront what many Democrats view as Trump’s authoritarian ambitions while recovering from major losses in 2024.
Judicial Nominee Concerns
In confirmation hearings, Trump’s second‑term judicial nominees have avoided acknowledging that he lost the 2020 campaign or that the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol was a violent insurrection. Orton criticized this, saying, “Democrats shouldn’t give bipartisan cover to judges who are not ‘able to answer these simple questions of fact.’”
Senators’ Defense and Positions
John Fetterman
Fetterman, who has faced criticism from the left for his staunch support of Israel in the Gaza war and for bucking party lines, defended his voting record last month. Speaking to CBS News, he said, “If Democrats have a problem with somebody that votes 91% of the same times as you are — more than nine out of 10 times — then maybe our party has a bigger problem.”
Maggie Hassan
Hassan said she voted to reopen the government despite backlash from the left because many of her constituents were suffering and it was unlikely Republicans would offer a better deal. She also noted that she supported some of Trump’s executive branch nominees “who are qualified or acting in good faith.”
Angus King
King was the lone member of the Democratic Caucus to vote to confirm a federal judge in Missouri whose legal work had challenged abortion rights. He later characterized the vote as “a mistake.”
Key Takeaways
- Demand Justice is spending over $1 million in a weeklong ad campaign targeting Senate Democrats and independent Senator Angus King.
- Group president Josh Orton threatens to expand the effort unless lawmakers “find their moral compass, and stand up to Trump.”
- The campaign follows Democratic senators’ involvement in ending a government shutdown, sparking backlash from the party’s base.
The initiative reflects growing frustration within the Democratic Party over how to confront President Trump’s perceived authoritarianism while navigating a Republican‑controlled Congress and White House.
