This is the Daily Blast from the New Republic, produced and presented by the DSR Network.

I'm your host, Greg Sargent.

Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut has been one of the most forceful voices in the Democratic Party and sounding the alarm about Donald Trump.

Importantly, he's also urged his congressional colleagues to use their power creatively

to constrain Trump's ongoing abuses of power and destruction of our democracy. But in recent days,

Trump's consolidation of authoritarian power has, if anything, escalated. And we're in the

middle of a government shutdown fight in which Democrats are drawing a

hard line, but not for an end to Trump's lawbreaking. Trump has responded by issuing

shockingly lawless threats toward Blue America. So why aren't more Democrats stepping up,

and is there anything Democrats can do right now and in coming weeks to use their power to

place constraints on Trump? Today we're talking to Senator Murphy about all of this. Senator Murphy,

thank you so much for coming on. What's up, ma'am? Thanks for having me. Senator, let's start here.

The Office of Management and Budget Chief Russ Vote is now corruptly canceling billions of dollars in funding for projects in a number of blue states.

Trump just explicitly said on truth social that he's meeting with vote to determine which, quote unquote, Democrat agencies they can cancel.

I just wanted to get your immediate reaction to all that.

Yeah, I mean, it's pretty wild that

the corruption is so raisin, is so transparent. You know, votes sent out this tweet yesterday saying,

I'm canceling energy projects in the following states, enlisted the states in every single one of them

is a state represented by two Democratic senators. And the one Democratic senator who voted for the Republican continuing resolution,

that Senator State wasn't on the list.

So, you know, it's just there for everybody to see that he is lawlessly,

corruptly using the power of the White House to do what he's been doing all year,

...