In failing to demonstrate what they stand for, Democrats fumbled the chance to show why they deserve a return to power, centrists and progressives say.

Privately, many Senate Democrats conceded that their leader was doing his job by protecting his members from a tough vote and making a politically painful decision. But the backlash from his party was intense.

The U.S. Senate on Friday passed a stopgap spending bill, averting a partial government shutdown, after Democrats backed down in a standoff driven by anger over President Donald Trump's campaign to slash the federal workforce.