The newfound cohesion came as Democrats struggle to land on the same page for how to resist Trump’s second-term agenda, his nominees, and Republican Hill leaders who are laying the groundwork for the 2026 midterm elections.

The Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act, which would require lifesaving treatment for infants that survive abortions, proved to be far less torturous politics for Democrats than the Laken Riley Act, which seeks to crack down on illegal immigration.

“There’s nothing more important to Democrats than abortion,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) said on the floor. “They will vote against legislation to provide appropriate medical care to babies born alive in an abortion clinic just in case such a law ends up jeopardizing their cherished ‘right to abortion.’”

The legislation failed to clear a 60-vote filibuster 52-47 along party lines. The vote coincided with the 52nd anniversary of Roe v. Wade and came ahead of the annual March for Life rally this weekend in Washington, D.C.

Democrats see abortion-related issues as one arena that proved successful for them in several battleground Senate races like Michigan, Nevada, and Wisconsin, unlike immigration and southern border messaging.

“This election was very clear across the country, where Republicans’ message was, this is a state issue. And in state after state, [Democrats] brought up protections for women in their states, and they won,” Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) told reporters. “We are going to be on the attack on this.”

The House will vote on its version of the bill this week. Rep. Jared Golden (D-ME), a purple-district centrist who frequently bucks his party, told the Washington Examiner he will vote against it in the latest sign of unified Democratic opposition.

The born-alive votes will mark a departure from the Laken Riley Act that peeled away support from dozens of Democrats in Congress for a bipartisan measure that co-sponsors like Sens. John Fetterman (D-PA) and Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) labeled “commonsense.” And Trump’s nominees have unearthed further clashes among Senate Democrats on whether to throw up obstacles for inevitable confirmations in a show of resistance.

The Senate will also soon consider legislation to bar transgender student-athletes from women’s sports, but it is also slated for a filibuster defeat after it secured nominal Democratic backing in the House from just two members.

“When you talk specifically Laken Riley, [there were] a number of Democrats who saw what happened on Election Day, where the positions of the Democrat Party on an open border were defeated,” Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso (R-WY) said.

Democrats viewed the born-alive provision as redundant, misleading, and a backdoor pathway for Republicans to further restrict abortion access at the federal level. A similar law has been on the books since 2002. The new proposal, Murray said, would take the rare instance of a born-alive child often associated with failed late-term abortions due to a suspected fatal anomaly and force doctors to render futile aid.

“When, actually, what those parents really want to do is spend a last few minutes with their dying child,” Murray said.

ABORTION FOES SEE HOPE IF THEY CAN GET GOP GOVERNORS TO SPEND POLITICAL CAPITAL

Republicans acknowledged some redundancies but raised what they called a loophole under current law: What happens if no effort is made to save a born-alive child?

“What is allowed is a tiny little loophole that if an abortion was botched, everyone can just back away and watch the child die. They do not have to give that child medical care,” said Sen. James Lankford (R-OK), the measure’s lead author. “That’s quite a loophole.”

Hailey Bullis contributed to this report.