As the federal closure slides into a second week, Republicans are working to peel off five more Democratic senators to join them in voting to reopen the government.
At a Senate committee hearing, the attorney general avoided answering pointed queries by repeatedly laying into her questioners and casting her responses as a defense of the Trump administration.
Even President Trump has conceded that he and his party could face political pain from rising premiums, stiffening Democrats’ spines as they demand a subsidy extension.
As Republicans try to pin blame for shutdown damage on Democrats, they are hailing a federal bureaucracy they normally bash as wasteful and overreaching.
Mr. Hunt, a U.S. House member, and Senator John Cornyn will be competing for voters who dislike the state’s attorney general, Ken Paxton, who has led in many polls.
A blistering assault on economic elites, a moderate stance on cultural issues and a rejection of politics as usual. That’s how to remake the Democratic Party.