Senate Democrats say the six-month government funding resolution passed through the House on Tuesday is a “terrifying” bill, but the Senate Democrats are at risk that blocking the law and could last several weeks of government shutdowns.
Senate Democrats, along with many Democrats, especially those in Swing State, fought behind closed doors Tuesday, claiming they must avoid closing the House, claiming that they must avoid closing the House.
Several centres warned that if Democrats increase their defence spending by $6 billion, increase border security funding, and cut non-defense programs by $13 billion, there is no clear end game to end government shutdowns if Democrats beat measures spent in the House.
The bill passed 217-213 pm on Tuesday. But political calculus is different for Senate Democrats. Because they will need their votes to avoid closure.
Senate Republicans manage 53 seats and need at least eight Democratic votes to reach the 60 vote threshold required to overcome the filibuster. Stubborn fiscal conservative Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) says he will vote against the suspension to not do enough to reduce the deficit.
Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) said he would vote to keep the government open, even if he is not a fan of the fundraising halt passed at his home.
“I was very clear. I'm not withholding any votes or votes to shut down the government,” Fetterman told Hill.
“For me, if Democrats want to burn the village and save it, it's a terrible optics and it's going to have a serious impact on millions of people,” he warned. “I'm not going to vote for such a mess.”
Independent Democrat-caucus Sen. Angus King (Mayne), a tech billionaire who leads Trump's efforts to reduce the government, warned that the government shutdown could be used to pressure more federal workers to quit.
“We deal with a lot of people I doubt. A lot of people think shutting down is a good thing. That's something that has to be considered. This is not normal,” King warned.
King didn't say how he would vote for a six-month house pass halt, but showed he was worried about potential consequences if Senate Democrats beat it.
Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) said Democrats have limited leverage to shape the ongoing solution to avoid shutdowns.
“I think it's important to recognize that Republicans have a majority in the House and Senate. You know the White House. They've already shut down some of the government. I'm really worried about that,” he said.
Kelly also warned of an addition to Washington's turmoil, Musk fought a budget cut war with federal agencies, and Trump fought a trade war with Canada and Mexico.
“Elon Musk is firing veterans. He's going to continue doing this. We're a very challenging economic time. Donald Trump, the decision he made at tariffs, is destroying the economy. This is complicated,” he said.
Kelly said he would like to see Republican and Democrat negotiators reach deals on the 2025 stagnant spending bill and criticize Republicans away from bipartisan negotiations.
Senate Democrats discussed over an hour of how they would proceed at their weekly Caucas Lunch meeting in Lyndon Baines Johnson's room, just off the Senate floor.
“The conversation today was divided. We can't say we have a strategy,” said the Democrat senator, who called for anonymity to comment on internal deliberations. “There are a lot of people who haven't made a decision.”
Lawmakers said they fear that if Democrats vote to break the House bill, they will be held responsible for the shutdown. The House has been out of session for the rest of the week, increasing pressure on Senate Democrats.
“CR is a terrible bill…but shutdowns have terrible consequences,” the source added. “Elon Musk is about to shut down the government. When we shut down it, it removes responsibility from him and holds us accountable for the confusion and confusion.”
Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer (DN.Y.) declined to comment on what he and his colleagues had private discussions.
When asked why the meeting was dragged over so long, Schumer joked, “The food was very good, everyone had a triple.”
Schumer didn't talk about the government's fundraising fight when he spoke on the floor Tuesday morning.
Senate Democrats said they will continue to discuss options on Wednesday.
“We haven't made a final decision, we're still talking about it,” Senate Democrat Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) said of how Democrats handle pivotal votes.
Senate majority leader John Tune (Rs.D.) warned that Democrats will be fully responsible for shutting down the government if they block the House bill.
“Without action from Congress, the government will run out of funds coming on Friday,” he said. “Here we are on the verge of government shutdown, which is entirely from a Democrat work if it happens.
“The Senate will need 60 votes to pass the spending bill, so we'll need Democrats to vote for it,” he said.
Government funds are expected to expire after a stroke at 12am on Saturday.
Other Senate Democrats say the laws drafted by the House are “terrifying” and compare them to “trash can fire.”
“Don't make a mistake. The whole bill the House is voting for today is about Republicans themselves. It's a trash can fire. Patty Murray (D-Wash), vice-chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, said on the Senate floor.
Murray urged his Senate colleagues to instead pass a short-term, continuing resolution and reach deals on the omnibus spending package for several more weeks.
She argued that if the House cuts down the Army Corps of Engineers' projects, it would do 44% protection for floods and hurricanes, and that she would do nothing to address the National Institutes of Health's $280 million shortfall.
Sen. Tim Kane (D-Va.) called stopgap, who went to the house, in a state with about 140,000 federal workers, “terrifying,” but he stopped saying he would vote against it.
“It's a bad bill. I can't imagine why Republicans sign up for bills that cut VA construction and food safety. There's a bird flu outbreak,” he said. “The bill is horrible.”
Some vulnerable Democrats refused to say how they would vote for the measure when they came from their homes.
“We'll look at what comes out of our home. We'll carefully evaluate what I think is in the best interests of the state and the country,” said Sen. John Ossoff (D-Ga.), who will be re-elected next year.
Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mich.) told reporters after lunch Tuesday that Democrats had a “robust conversation” about how they could handle fundraising bills passed at home.
Updated at 7:47am
