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Congressional Democrats have been forcing Republicans to cast tough votes on President Trump and theyre just getting started.

In recent days, Democrats have triggered votes related to Trumps tax returns, business relationships and ties to Russia in an effort to cast Republicans as complicit in the secrecy surrounding Trumps finances.

I think the Democrats should push hard on this issue and push hard whenever they get a chance, said Democratic strategist Brad Bannon.

Bannon, who writes for the Hills Contributors blog, noted that there are about two dozen House Republicans whose districts Democrat Hillary ClintonHillary Rodham Clinton50-state strategy for Dems? How about 15 instead? Dem senator: Russian hacking may have been 'act of war' LIVE COVERAGE: Jeff Sessions under fire MORE won in the presidential election.

The more times Democrats can get Republican House members on [the] record of supporting Trump the more the merrier, he said.

On Monday, Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-N.J.) tried to force a vote on a resolution requesting 10 years of Trumps tax returns so that they could be reviewed in a closed-door meeting of the House Ways and Means Committee.

Pascrells gambit which came after the committee rejected an amendment about Trumps tax returns earlier this month failed in a procedural party-line vote.

The following day, the House Judiciary Committee rejected a resolution from Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-N.Y.) to request documents from Attorney General Jeff SessionsJeff SessionsRyan: AG should recuse himself if he is 'subject' of Russia investigation Second GOP senator calls for Sessions to recuse himself Ex-Sessions staffer: 'No-brainer' for him to recuse himself MORE about Trumps potential business conflicts and Russia ties.

Nadler had forced a vote by offering it as a resolution of inquiry that would have triggered a House floor vote if the committee didnt act.

We forced the Republicans to vote, Nadler said of the Judiciary Committee markup. And I think we will keep the pressure on.

Nadler told The Hill hes hopeful that Democrats will offer more resolutions of inquiry that will be brought up in other committees. If more Republicans are forced to take votes, it will increase the pressure on them to hold a proper investigation on issues such as Trumps business in Russia, he said.

Rep. Joseph Crowley (N.Y.), chairman of the House Democratic Caucus and a member of the Ways and Means panel, vowed that party leaders would use the issue of Trumps tax returns as a cudgel against Republicans.

This is not a one-off or two-off. We will persistently and consistently force votes in committee or on the floor weekly, whenever we [can]. The silence [from Republicans] is deafening, Crowley said Tuesday. That will not stand with our caucus.

Senate Democrats are adopting similar tactics.

On Wednesday, a group of Democrats on the Senate Finance Committee asked Chairman Orrin HatchOrrin HatchSenate panel approves pick for Medicaid and Medicare chief Democrats vow that GOP will take more Trump votes Overnight Finance: Dow closes above 21K | Trump seeks to delay investment adviser rule | Mnuchin promises tax reform by August MORE (R-Utah) to request copies of Trumps tax returns from the Treasury Department. Hatch rejected the request.

It remains to be seen whether focusing on Trumps finances will sway voters; Democrats raised the same issues in the presidential campaign, and Clinton still lost.

Party strategists also predict that the economy is likely to be the main issue in the midterm elections.

But those same strategists also suggested that the tax return issue could help Democrats secure House seats in winnable districts.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) on Tuesday sent out key vote alerts highlighting specific Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee who voted against Nadlers resolution.

Vulnerable House Republicans voted this week to shield President Trump from Congressional scrutiny of his ties to Russia and to keep his taxes secret and this is just over the course of one week, said DCCC spokesman Tyler Law. Our Republican targets will be forced repeatedly to take votes in support of Trumps deeply unpopular agenda, which is a situation they never had to face last cycle.

For now, GOP lawmakers are siding against Democrats in the politically charged votes; some of the handful of GOP lawmakers who have called for Trump to release his tax returns voted to block the Democratic resolution. Rep. Mark Sanford (R-S.C.), who has urged Trump to release his returns, voted present.

Trump seems unlikely to release his returns on his own. He has said he wont release them until the IRS finishes auditing him, though the IRS has said that audits dont prevent taxpayers from disclosing their own information.

Shortly before his inauguration, Trump laid out a plan to keep ownership of his businesses but turn over the management of them to his adult children.

The President has done everything necessary to make sure he is in full compliance and following the law to ensure there are no conflicts of interest, White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said.

Mike Lillis contributed

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Democrats vow that GOP will take more Trump votes - The Hill

Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., leader of the House Democrats, says she wants a vote every week on forcing disclosure of the president's tax returns. Alex Brandon/AP hide caption

Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., leader of the House Democrats, says she wants a vote every week on forcing disclosure of the president's tax returns.

House Democrats are pursuing a strategy to force Republicans to take repeated votes on whether to investigate President Trump's ethics and alleged ties to Russia.

The Democrats failed Tuesday evening as the Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee rejected such an investigation. A party-line vote ended a long day of wrangling, barely two hours before the president took the rostrum in the House chamber for his address to Congress.

Democrats say their strategy is aimed at keeping a parliamentary spotlight on the president's ethics issues and other controversies. Republicans hold clear majorities in the House and Senate and control the agenda.

House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi has said she wants to push for a vote every week on a resolution that would force disclosure of Trump's tax returns between 2006 and 2015. The resolution, sponsored by Rep. Bill Pascrell, D-N.J., has already gone down on party-line votes in the Ways and Means Committee and on the House floor. Senate Democrats have a companion measure.

The Democratic resolution of inquiry defeated Tuesday in House Judiciary would have directed the Justice Department to give the House its records on four issues: Trump's business empire; the revocable trust that allows him to maintain ownership; possible conflicts of interest arising from foreign money going to his businesses; and alleged links between people around Trump and Russian operatives.

"It simply says give us, the Judiciary Committee, the information so that we can look at what has actually happened," said Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash.

Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte said the resolution of inquiry was "unnecessary, premature and not the best way" to tackle the concerns.

Other GOP lawmakers said Democrats have already judged Trump. Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., said, "President Trump's detractors are going through the stages of grief."

Still another resolution from House Democrats would create an independent commission to investigate alleged Russian interference with the election. The Senate and House Intelligence committees are also looking at that issue, amid partisan conflict.

Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., who aggressively investigated the Obama administration, has also called for what he termed an independent review of the Russia connections.

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House Democrats Lose Another Bid To Investigate Trump, But Don't Plan To Quit - NPR

President Donald Trump says hes open to a large-scale immigration reform bill if Republicans and Democrats can reach a compromise. But he forgot the biggest obstacle to a deal: his own policies and the revulsion theyve already fueled among Democrats.

Trump stormed into the White House with a vow to crack down on undocumented immigrants, and promptly followed through alienating advocates of a more generous immigration policy. Not only will Trump struggle to persuade Democrats to come to the table, its not even clear theyre in the same room.

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If hes serious, he should give us evidence and say, Im going to stop the deportations, said Rep. Luis Gutirrez, a key player in past immigration reform efforts. The Illinois Democrat said Trump needs to stand up to his hard line immigration brain trust Attorney General Jeff Sessions, chief strategist Steve Bannon and Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach whom Gutierrez called the three principal heads of xenophobia.

Even Trump's critics were caught off guard by how quickly he moved to implement sweeping campaign promises, including the executive orders to build a wall on the southern border; to greatly broaden the pool of people likely to be deported; temporarily restrict citizens of several majority-Muslim nations from entering the U.S.; and suspend the refugee resettlement program.

Hints of a policy shift emerged on Tuesday afternoon, when the president told television news anchors in a closed-door luncheon that the time is right for an immigration reform bill and expressed openness to legal status for undocumented immigrants. He even suggested he would back giving a pathway to citizenship to so-called Dreamers, who came to the U.S. as children.

Not everyone was convinced.

Mark my words: This is going to be walked back, were going to see no plan at all, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, a leading voice on immigration policy within the Democratic Party, told MSNBCs Morning Joe.

In his first joint address to Congress Tuesday night, Trump made no mention of such a proposal. Instead, he warned that the U.S. could become a sanctuary for extremists and spoke more about criminal immigrants than the vast, law-abiding majority. Bad ones are going out as I speak tonight, he said.

In one reference that elicited groans from congressional Democrats, the president touted the creation of a new office within Homeland Security to support victims of crimes by deportable immigrants. He called the new office, dubbed VOICE, a place to turn for people silenced by special interests.

Even his vision of immigration reform suggested a move to restrict legal immigration or at least reduce the number of lower-skilled immigrants and adopt a merit-based system that would prize skills over family connections.

The result nullified whatever goodwill he might have engendered among Democrats with his more centrist comments earlier in the day.

On the Senate floor Wednesday, Schumer portrayed Trumps immigration reform comments to news anchors as an aberration and the harsher speech to Congress as a better measure of his stance on the issue.

It was so funny he spoke to a bunch of cosmopolitan news anchors and mentioned maybe he will change his views on immigration and the media got into a buzz about that, Schumer said. The speech he gave was one of the most anti-immigrant speeches that we heard any president ever give. Schumer added Trump was saying one thing, doing another.

The Trump administration maintains its early actions around immigration have been reasonable and clearly laid out. White House spokesman Michael Short said the administration is focused on enforcing immigration laws, securing the border and removing criminals in the country illegally. The president has been clear about what his priorities are right now, Short said in an email. If Congress were to begin crafting legislation, hed be willing to listen and engage with them.

Immigrant rights groups have already assumed a vehemently anti-Trump posture that makes it difficult to imagine them supporting any kind of legislative effort attached to his name.

His whole worldview is just crushing the lives of immigrants, said Lynn Tramonte, deputy director of Americas Voice, a liberal group in favor of immigration reform. So the idea that there would be some compromise on legislation with him, its just so far from where we are today.

Tramonte sees the presidents talk of a merit-based immigration system as a euphemism for slashing future levels of immigration. Indeed, a bill introduced last month by Trump ally Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) would do just that cutting the levels of legal immigration in half over a decade.

Who engineers the criteria for somebody to qualify for this new merit-based system? Tramonte asked. If its people who dont like immigrants, theyre going to make it as narrow as possible.

The president could find a friendlier reception from business groups, which have been more supportive of his broader policy agenda. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, for instance, has refrained from criticizing the administrations tough enforcement policies, even though it has extolled the economic virtues of immigration in the past.

In the view of Randy Johnson, a senior vice president at the Chamber, Trumps desire to move to a merit-based immigration system shows hes open to broader reform. You cant do merit-based immigration reform [by] just changing two or three words in the code, he said.

Trumps immigration overtures have played better with Republicans, too. Still, theyll also come with their own list of demands to include in any legislation, from new visas for temporary workers to citizenship for certain undocumented immigrants.

Few know the challenges to gathering consensus on immigration as well as Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), who has worked to rally his party toward a reform bill for more than a decade. I think it opens a window of opportunity that perhaps we can all work together, he said of Trumps comments in an interview.

McCain, however, thinks citizenship and not just legalization for undocumented immigrants should be part of any legislative effort. Trump reportedly said Tuesday that he would oppose a pathway to citizenship for most of the countrys 11 million undocumented immigrants.

Suppose when the Irish came, McCain asked, should we have said you can come but you can never be citizens? Cmon Why would you want to have someone permanently reside in the United States without an opportunity to work their way through citizenship?

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), who worked with McCain and Schumer on a bipartisan immigration reform effort in 2013, said Trump would need to support the principles in that bill to get any traction in the Senate.

If hes willing to embrace a logical solution for the 11 million that allows legal status, a pathway to citizenship for some, after they pass criminal background checks, requirements to learn English and pay a fine, then bill will pass, Graham said. If he doesnt, it wont pass.

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Democrats dismiss Trump's immigration reform talk - Politico

President Trump revealed the conditions under which he could support immigration reform, which would be a remarkable policy shift just as the White House prepares to put out a revised travel ban.

There was a little-noticed line in Trumps speech to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday night.

I believe that real and positive immigration reform is possible, Trump said at Tuesdays address, indicating he could be game for some sort of plan that would be less severe toward illegal immigrants than what his prior rhetoric had suggested.

But, he insisted, goals would need to be met before discussions of immigration reform could be enacted: To improve jobs and wages for Americans; to strengthen our nations security; and to restore respect for our laws.

Meanwhile the White House also postponed a planned executive-order signing Wednesday which would have reinstituted the travel ban.

Trumps first travel ban, which temporarily blocked travel of citizens from seven mostly Muslim countries to America, was blocked by a federal court.

White House officials are still continuing to debate the particulars of the new ban. There is reportedly a rift over whether to exclude Iraq.

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Trump lays out 'goals' for immigration reform - New York Post

Sen. Marco Rubio has said that immigration reform is "difficult but...possible."

The Florida lawmaker made the comments on FOX News Wednesday, the day after President Trump gave an address which mentioned the issue several times.

During his interview, Rubio outlined a three-step approach which involves enforcing current laws, modernizing the criteria for determining who stays, and developing a plan for long-time, non-threatening residents.

RELATED: Protests erupt throughout US cities over Trump immigration ban

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Protests erupt throughout US cities over Trump immigration ban

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Demonstrators gather in Copley Square for the "Boston Protest Against Muslim Ban and Anti-Immigration Orders" to protest U.S. President Donald Trump's executive order travel ban in Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. January 29, 2017. REUTERS/Brian Snyder

An international traveler smiles as she walks past the protest against the travel ban imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump's executive order, at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport in Dallas, Texas, U.S. January 29, 2017. REUTERS/Laura Buckman

Demonstrators yell slogans during protest against the travel ban imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump's executive order, at Los Angeles International Airport in Los Angeles, California, U.S., January 29, 2017. REUTERS/Ted Soqui

Sarah Ijaz joins the "Boston Protest Against Muslim Ban and Anti-Immigration Orders" to protest U.S. President Donald Trump's executive order travel ban in Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. January 29, 2017. REUTERS/Brian Snyder

BOSTON - JANUARY 29: People hold signs as they march from Copley Square to the Mass. State House in Boston on Jan. 29, 2017, to protest President Donald Trump's executive order banning people from several predominantly Muslim countries from entering the country. (Photo by Jessica Rinaldi/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)

Muslim women pray during the "Boston Protest Against Muslim Ban and Anti-Immigration Orders" protesting U.S. President Donald Trump's executive order travel ban in Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. January 29, 2017. REUTERS/Brian Snyder

People gather to pray in baggage claim during a protest against the travel ban imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump's executive order, at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport in Dallas, Texas, U.S. January 29, 2017. REUTERS/Laura Buckman

Eight year-old Esma, an Irish-Moroccan-American, prays with other Muslim women during the "Boston Protest Against Muslim Ban and Anti-Immigration Orders" protesting U.S. President Donald Trump's executive order travel ban in Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. January 29, 2017. REUTERS/Brian Snyder

Demonstrators spell out "# No Muslim Ban" during the "Boston Protest Against Muslim Ban and Anti-Immigration Orders" to protest U.S. President Donald Trump's executive order travel ban in Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. January 29, 2017. REUTERS/Brian Snyder

Izzy Berdan (R) joins the "Boston Protest Against Muslim Ban and Anti-Immigration Orders" to protest U.S. President Donald Trump's executive order travel ban in Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. January 29, 2017. REUTERS/Brian Snyder

Muslim women pray during the "Boston Protest Against Muslim Ban and Anti-Immigration Orders" protesting U.S. President Donald Trump's executive order travel ban in Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. January 29, 2017. REUTERS/Brian Snyder

Muslim women pray during the "Boston Protest Against Muslim Ban and Anti-Immigration Orders" protesting U.S. President Donald Trump's executive order travel ban in Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. January 29, 2017. REUTERS/Brian Snyder

Demonstrators gather in Copley Square for the "Boston Protest Against Muslim Ban and Anti-Immigration Orders" to protest U.S. President Donald Trump's executive order travel ban in Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. January 29, 2017. REUTERS/Brian Snyder

An activist holds a sign outside the White House to protest President Donald Trump's executive actions on immigration in Washington January 29, 2017. REUTERS/Aaron P. Bernstein

Activists gather outside the White House to protest President Donald Trump's executive actions on immigration in Washington January 29, 2017. REUTERS/Aaron P. Bernstein

Activists gather outside the White House to protest President Donald Trump's executive actions on immigration in Washington January 29, 2017. REUTERS/Aaron P. Bernstein

Activists gather outside the White House to protest President Donald Trump's executive actions on immigration in Washington January 29, 2017. REUTERS/Aaron P. Bernstein

Samah Mansur, from Egypt, takes part in the "Boston Protest Against Muslim Ban and Anti-Immigration Orders" to protest U.S. President Donald Trump's executive order travel ban in Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. January 29, 2017. REUTERS/Brian Snyder

Activists gather outside the White House to protest President Donald Trump's executive actions on immigration in Washington January 29, 2017. REUTERS/Aaron P. Bernstein

People gather to protest against the travel ban imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump's executive order, at First Baptist Church in Dallas, Texas, U.S., January 29, 2017. REUTERS/Laura Buckman

BOSTON - JANUARY 29: People hold signs as they gather in Copley Square in Boston on Jan. 29, 2017, to protest President Donald Trump's executive order banning people from several predominantly Muslim countries from entering the country. (Photo by Jessica Rinaldi/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)

BOSTON - JANUARY 29: People gather in Copley Square in Boston on Jan. 29, 2017, to protest President Donald Trump's executive order banning people from several predominantly Muslim countries from entering the country. (Photo by Jessica Rinaldi/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)

UNITED STATES - JANUARY 29: Rep. Don Beyer, D-Va., speaks with an ACLU legal observer during the protest at Dulles International Airport in Virginia on Sunday, Jan. 29, 2017. Protests erupted at airports around the country following President Trump's executive order restricting travel from several Islamic countries. (Photo By Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call)

MIAMI, FL - JANUARY 29: A protester holds up a sign that reads, 'Banning Immigrants is UnAmerican!,' as she stands with others at the Miami International Airport against the executive order that President Donald Trump signed clamping down on refugee admissions and temporarily restricting travelers from seven predominantly Muslim countries on January 29, 2017 in Miami, Florida. Demonstrators gathered at airports across the country in protest of the order. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

MIAMI, FL - JANUARY 29: Protesters stand together at the Miami International Airport against the executive order that President Donald Trump signed clamping down on refugee admissions and temporarily restricting travelers from seven predominantly Muslim countries on January 29, 2017 in Miami, Florida. Demonstrators gathered at airports across the country in protest of the order. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

MIAMI, FL - JANUARY 29: Susan Barimo joins with other protesters as they stand together at the Miami International Airport against the executive order that President Donald Trump signed clamping down on refugee admissions and temporarily restricting travelers from seven predominantly Muslim countries on January 29, 2017 in Miami, Florida. Demonstrators gathered at airports across the country in protest of the order. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

People gather outside Terminal 4 during a protest against Donald Trump's travel ban at John F. Kennedy International Airport in Queens, New York, U.S., January 29, 2017. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly

International travelers walk past protestors holding signs as they protest against the travel ban imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump's executive order, at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport in Dallas, Texas, U.S. January 29, 2017. REUTERS/Laura Buckman

Protesters at Discovery Green Park during Super Bowl events in Houston, Texas, U.S., January 29, 2017. REUTERS/Trish Badger

Dozens of pro-immigration demonstrators cheer and hold sign as international passengers arrive at Dulles International Airport, to protest President Donald Trump's executive order baring visitors, refugees and immigrants from certain countries to the United States, in Chantilly, Virginia, in suburban Washington, U.S., January 29, 2017. REUTERS/Mike Theiler

Activists march to the US Capitol to protest President Donald Trump's executive actions on immigration in Washington January 29, 2017. REUTERS/Aaron P. Bernstein TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY

Activists march to the US Capitol to protest President Donald Trump's executive actions on immigration in Washington January 29, 2017. REUTERS/Aaron P. Bernstein

Activists gather at the US Capitol to protest President Donald Trump's executive actions on immigration in Washington January 29, 2017. REUTERS/Aaron P. Bernstein

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He then added, "I believe if Democrats are willing to accept that direction then we can get something done. And if they continue to fight for the unrealistic, the 'let's give everybody blanket amnesty,' or 'let's give everybody citizenship,' or 'let's do it backwards,' or 'let's be against any effort to enforce the law beyond symbolic things,' then I think we're going to continue to be stuck in the cycle we've been in."

Rubio ended by saying, "...I'm hopeful...It's going to be difficult, but it is possible."

SEE ALSO: Trump candidate to head Border Patrol is under FBI investigation

President Trump, meanwhile, had advocated for a merit-based immigration system which he said "will save countless dollars, raise workers' wages and help struggling families, including immigrant families, enter the middle class."

He also announced the creation of an office called Voice, or Victims of Immigration Crime Engagement, to track crimes committed by undocumented immigrants, reports the New York Times.

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Rubio: Immigration reform 'going to be difficult, but it is possible' - AOL News