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Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) said Democrats in Congress may need to pull support for spending ahead of a looming government shutdown in an effort to be “good negotiators” at an Institute of Politics forum on Thursday.

Jayapal, who stepped down as a chair of the House Progressive Caucus after six years in January, said governing from the minority will require Democrats to make hard choices about their strategy. Before the current funding agreement runs out next week, the party’s House leadership has been toying with the idea of blocking the spending bill over Department of Government Efficiency workforce cuts.

“I think we have to be really strong. That may mean they move us into a government shutdown and try to blame us,” Jayapal said. “Don’t fall for it. It’s not Democrats. We don’t have that power.”

“They have the majorities in the House, the Senate, and the White House. Let’s see if they can govern,” she added.

Without an ally in the White House or power over either branch of government, Democrats’ negotiating power is already limited. Republicans currently control 218 House seats to Democrats’ 215.

While House leadership will need bipartisan support for passing a spending bill to avoid a government shutdown, many of the main Republican priorities will not require substantial Democratic backing as long as members vote along party lines.

Jayapal said her party needs to be realistic about its political weakness and reevaluate who they stand for.

“We like to govern. We like to save things. We like to save people. We like to be bipartisan. This is not that moment,” Jayapal said.

“Why do we keep giving away stuff for free when it’s hurting people? If they’re trying to slash $880 billion from Medicaid, no, I’m not going to give you any votes for that,” she added.

The discussion with Jayapal — moderated by Betsy Fischer Martin, former executive producer of NBC’s “Meet the Press” — was advertised to address the state of the Democratic Party. The event was hosted at the same time as an off-the-record study group with Rep. Nancy R. Mace (R-S.C.), held in an undisclosed location with IOP spring resident fellow Joe Mitchell.

A member of the House Judiciary Committee, Jayapal also said Democrats should look for allies in the judicial branch.

“The judicial branch is really where a lot of these battles are playing out,” she said, referencing several court orders to block Trump’s executive orders on diversity programs, foreign aid, and research funding cuts.

Jayapal also argued the Democratic Party would be best served by returning to its more progressive base.

“We have done this neoliberal economic thinking for a long time — catering to the very most conservative swing voters.” she said. “We’ve abandoned the people who actually would have stuck with us if we had stood up for them.”

“We don’t have a clear, defined leader,” Jayapal said of her party.

Her remarks come two days after Trump’s State of the Union address on Tuesday night. During the speech, Rep. Al Green (D-Texas) interrupted Trump to shout, “You have no mandate to cut Medicaid,” before he was removed from the chamber.

Congress voted to censure Green in a 224-198 vote earlier on Thursday. 10 Democrats voted in favor, though Jayapal was not one of them.

Instead Jayapal argued the censure was “inappropriate” due to the “outrageous decorum or lack of decorum from Republicans.”

Though she acknowledged Green had caused a disruption, Jayapal shifted the blame to Trump.

“This President is disrupting the Constitution. He is ignoring Article One, powers of Congress, he is ignoring the judiciary, and he is staging a coup,” she said. “I think we’re in a constitutional crisis.”

—Staff writer Ellen P. Cassidy can be reached at ellen.cassidy@thecrimson.com. Follow her on X at @ellenpcassidy.