Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., announced Thursday that he would act later that day to advance a bipartisan government funding bill after House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Louisiana, failed to pass a partisan six-month funding bill related to voter registration reform.
Schumer said a government funding bill will be considered by the House of Representatives, but the Senate may have to act first to avoid a government shutdown.
“Later today, I will file a filibuster to stop Trump from shutting down the government if the Speaker does not work with us in a bipartisan, bicameral way. Both sides will work over the next few days to find the best path forward to avoid shutting down the government,” Schumer announced on the Senate floor.
With funding for many federal departments and agencies expiring on Sept. 30, Johnson and other House Republican leaders have yet to unveil a “Plan B” bill that could muster enough votes to pass the House.
A six-month stopgap funding measure linked to a bill that would have required proof of citizenship to register to vote failed Wednesday in a 202-220 vote, with 14 Republicans voting no.
Democrats have called the proposal to require proof of citizenship to register to vote a “poison pill” that would not pass Congress, and many lawmakers in both parties have said they do not want to push back the annual fiscal 2024 spending bill until March.
Before Wednesday's vote, former President Trump urged Republican lawmakers to allow a government shutdown if Democrats don't agree to stricter voter registration rules.
“If Republicans do not fully understand the SAVE Act, they should not agree to any form of continuing resolution,” he wrote on his social media platform, Truth Social.
Schumer, Johnson, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky and House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York still have time to negotiate a three-month budget deal in the coming days, but time is running out.
Republican senators have said they want Johnson to introduce a three-month continuing resolution to the floor in the coming days, preserving the House's traditional role of being first to act on budget bills. But if Johnson can't muster enough votes to pass a tentative budget version in the House, GOP senators are prepared to work with Senate Democrats to pass the bill first.
“With today's filing, I'm giving the Senate maximum latitude to stop a shutdown. Neither Democrats nor the American people want to shut down Trump. I can say with certainty that, at least in this Congress, the majority of Republicans don't want to shut down Trump,” Schumer said.
