A group of 10 Democrats, including Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer (DN.Y.), voted on Friday to fund the government to advance the bills that Republicans trained until September 30th, taking an important step to infuriating many people in the party while avoiding government shutdowns.
The key procedure vote, which passed 62-38, places the bill on a gliding pass to pass the Senate on Friday afternoon despite fierce opposition from many Democrats.
Democrats voted to promote this measure include Senate Democrats Dick Durbin (Illinois) and Katherine Cortez Mast (D-Nev.), Maggie Hassan (DN.H.), John Fetterman (D-PA.), Gary Peters (D-Mitch. Shaheen (Dn.H.) and Angus King (Mayne), independent conspired with Democrats.
Senate Majority Leader John Tune (Rs.D.) announced his contract Friday before 4:30pm.
One amendment sponsored by Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) would bring back veterans who were fired from federal jobs under Trump. Another sponsored by Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) eliminates government efficiency. The third sponsored by Senator Randpole (R-KY.) codifies the reduction in foreign aid recommended by government efficiency.
All fixes are expected to fail.
Schumer opened the door for Democrat colleagues to vote to move the bill forward by announcing they would do so on Thursday to avoid government shutdowns.
He warned that the closure would give Trump and tech billionaire Elon Musk (Trump's main budget cutter) an incredible leverage to protect federal employees from work and shut down federal agencies for weeks or months.
“Government funds will expire in the middle of the night tonight. As announced yesterday, I will vote to keep the government open. Schumer said on the floor before the vote.
Fetterman, who represents the state Trump in 2024, said he would vote to move forward with the GOP bill because he fears that government shutdowns would hurt too many people.
“I'm going to stand up to things I just happen to think are the right thing to do,” he said. “What are your exit plans after the government is shut down? What about millions of Americans who destroy their lives?”
But Schumer's decision to vote to move forward on a bill he found to be a “very bad” bill Thursday sparked an outrageous backlash from Democrat progressives and House leaders.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (DN.Y.) warned that Schumer would make “a tremendous mistake.”
After learning of Schumer's decision, Ocasio-Cortez told reporters that he “has a deep sense of anger and betrayal.”
“And this isn't just progressive Democrats. It's all over the board, the whole party,” she said.
Ocasio-Cortez said Schumer betrayed House Democrats, a district that Trump won in 2024 when he voted a very strict vote on the bill earlier this week. Only one Democrat voted for the House action.
She said these vulnerable House Democrats voted harshly “to defend Social Security, Medicaid and Medicare, to protect the American people, just to see Senate Democrats.”
“I think it's a big slap in the face,” she said.
House Democrat leaders also spent the week looming Senate Democrats and blocking the bill.
“We stand on the side of working families, which is why the message to the Senate is like that: stand with us on that side,” House Democrat Whip Katherine Clark (Massachusetts) said earlier this week. “And I think our vote gives the Senate the strength and message that they need to stand up too.”
A repeated question Friday before the vote was asked if he had lost confidence in Schumer, minority leader Hakeem Jeffries (DN.Y.), broke down.
“Next question,” he said.
And vulnerable Democrat senators, including Officers Elissa Slotkin (Michigan) and John Ossoff (Georgia), who announced Thursday they would oppose the House bill.
“This bill is bad for Michigan, significantly reducing major infrastructure projects in Michigan; [Department of Veterans Affairs] And it harms our Great Lakes,” Slotkin said.
Ossov argued that the House bill “failed to impose restrictions on the irresponsible, reckless and out of control on the Trump administration.”
A group of democratic activists passed the torch on Friday, calling for Schumer to step down as the Senate minority leader.
But Schumer argued that it was as bad as Democrats, arguing that the bill that leads to the house is a better option than shutting down the government in the middle of the night.
Schumer called it “Hobson's Choice.” In other words, it's the apparent choice where there's actually only one viable option.
“CR is a bad bill, but as bad as CR, I believe that taking away more power is a much worse option,” he said Friday morning. “Shutdown is permitted [the Department of Government Efficiency] Move to overdrive. ”
Schumer also fought with his Caucus progressives, including Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Jeff Merkley (d-ore.), and Patty Murray (d-wash.).
Sanders argued on the Senator's floor that the GOP would exacerbate the crisis facing the country once it passes the draft funding bill.
“It makes a bad situation much worse,” he said. “It makes the economic struggles of working people even more difficult than they do today. And it's all about laying the foundation for a massive tax cut for Elon Musk and the billionaire class.”
In an interview, Merckley told CNN that the House bill was a “hell no.”
He argued that accepting the House GOP bill would only burn Trump and Musk.
“You don't stop bullying by handing over your lunch money, and you won't stop the tyrant by giving him more power,” he said.
Sen. Andy Kim, the first-time New Jersey lawmaker, understood why Schumer and other Democrats voted for a bill that would lead to the House, but insisted that Democrats should send a message by standing up to Trump and his GOP Ally.
“I understand these concerns” about the government closure, he said. “This is a real victory situation for America, not just for the Senate Democrats, but for the country. In any case, people will get hurt. I understand the concerns about the possibility of a shutdown. I don't want that.
“But I disagree with how this is unfolding,” he said of the hope that the House bill will move forward with some democratic support.
“Shutdown gives you a huge amount of room [the Office of Management and Budget] Determine how limited resources are prioritized and triaged. No one is dangerous to this administration [OMB Director] Russell collapsed right now,” Kim admitted.
However, he insisted that Trump, Musk and Vautu were “already taking such actions to shut down the government.”
“I personally believe you need to stand up to that kind of action,” he said. “I understand that there is deep uncertainty about what happened next, but I was happy to go that path.”
