When they emerged, however, Democrats were coy about what the burst of celebration was for.


“Oh, was there applause?” Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA) said with a smile. “Maybe they were clapping for somebody’s birthday. Who knows?”


“We clap for a lot of things in our caucus,” Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) deadpanned.


While playing down the political victory they had just scored—winning all of their demands from a Republican president—the Democrats acknowledged that the deal gives them leverage down the road to extract concessions from the Republican majority, such as protections for immigrants now at risk of losing their DACA protections.


Winning.  For real.