Republicans in Congress are ceding their constitutional power to the president, so says the “politerati.”

Yes, but there’s the rub: 10 Senate Democrats joined Republicans, including Minority Leader Chuck Schumer. He changed his mind the day before.

The Senate 10 sacrificed the minority’s sole power to check the president. Senate Republicans needed eight more votes to reach the required 60 to pass a lethal resolution to keep the government open at midnight.

After waxing and waning, the Schumer surrender dealt a gut punch to 37 Senate Democrats who fiercely opposed the ugly Republican ultimatum.

House Democrats stood strong in opposition, daring President Donald Trump and Republicans to own a shutdown. But the Senate 10 succumbed in a late Friday showdown.

Said freshman Sen. Adam Schiff: “I’m not going to sugarcoat it. Today was a bad day … for the Democratic Party.

“We (in Congress) are ceding our authority. … This must not happen again.”

Granted, Schumer and his Senate caucus faced a grave dilemma. A savvy pol, he made a careful call that went against the winds in wrenching discussions.

Normally, government shutdowns make no political sense, and Trump prolonged one in the past.

But three of four Senate Democrats knew this was a defining moment of truth. Together, they had to show they could not be rolled by the Trump juggernaut.

Morale, unity and cohesion are leadership tests. Schumer failed — and the anger goes beyond the marble halls of Congress. He postponed a book tour, with Baltimore as the first stop, because of planned protests.

As the press observed the unfolding drama, Washington Sen. Patty Murray, the most senior Senate Democrat, rose to speak.

Senators should not accept a radical-right poison bill from House Speaker Mike Johnson, she said. They should abide by their own appropriations in a bipartisan process.

All afternoon, the senator from Washington kept a floor vigil. Schumer was barely seen and heard. Murray, who ran for office as “a mom in tennis shoes,” was the true leader of the party that day.

Now the road is wide open for Donald Trump-Elon Musk. They have a free hand to wage war on the federal government. The harsh Trump tariffs are now untouchable. Science, academia, Social Security, veterans and Medicaid stay in their sights.

Right now it’s well to remember the wise words of the late Sen. Robert C. Byrd. We hear a lot of talk of Julius Caesar’s rule over Rome — up to his assassination on the ides of March.

Yet Byrd often told colleagues: “Caesar did not seize power. The Roman Senate ceded power to Caesar.”