Jordain Carney
Senate Democrats are hammering congressional Republicans as both parties look to claim momentum heading into 2018, saying the past year has been a "complete failure" for the GOP.
Democrats on the Joint Economic Committee — led by Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) — are releasing a report detailing Republicans' "worst" of their first year under a unified GOP government.
"This year was marked by complete failure by Republicans in Congress to help the working Americans who need it the most. Instead, Republicans and the Trump administration have made partisan moves to endanger the economic security of families across this country," Heinrich said.
He added that Democrats "stand ready to work with Republicans" during the rest of the current session of Congress, which runs through 2018.
The report, which was obtained in advance of its release by The Hill, details how Democrats believe Republican are doing "real damage" across a myriad of areas.
"In his first year in office, President Trump and Congressional Republicans hurt workers’ pay and benefits, rolled back consumer financial protections, targeted public lands for commercial development, and attempted to strip health care coverage from millions of Americans," the report states.
It also touches on the GOP tax plan that was sent to the White House on Wednesday and the repeated Republican attempts to repeal and replace ObamaCare. It argues that in keeping the government operating, Republicans "have lurched from one continuing resolution to the next," referring to the government jargon for a stopgap spending measure.
Republicans are defending eight seats in 2018, compared to 25 for Democrats — 10 of which are in states won by Trump in the 2016 election.
Democrats have been increasingly bullish about their chances next year, especially after last week's upset win in an Alabama Senate race.
They need to gain two seats to win back the Senate majority.
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