House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) has cautioned Republicans that next year’s spending bill will require Democratic backing, or else a government shutdown is likely.
“If Republicans attempt to undermine a bill that impacts the American people, we hope they’ll reconsider,” Jeffries stated at a Capitol press conference on Monday.
With President Trump’s “large and beautiful bills” already passed, the Republican-led appropriations committee is preparing for the 2026 spending bill, with a deadline set for September 30th.
Typically, these spending bills are bipartisan, but this year, Trump’s Budget Director Russ Vought has urged Republicans to disregard Democrats’ input and to draft an extremely conservative spending bill to enhance federal cuts.
“The spending process should be bipartisan,” Vought remarked during a breakfast event hosted by the Christian Science Monitor last week.
This advice presents a significant challenge. Republicans can push partisan bills through the House with just a simple majority, but they’ll face tougher resistance in the Senate, where Democrats can utilize the filibuster. This means that for the spending bill to pass, it ultimately needs bipartisan support, requiring 60 votes in the upper chamber.
Jeffries’ warnings about a potential shutdown emphasize the limits of Democratic Senators against a partisan GOP bill.
“Similar to those behind Project 2025, there are officials from the Trump administration suggesting we should control the spending process. It looks like they want to push for a government shutdown,” he said.
That approach didn’t yield positive results earlier this year.
During a similar situation in March, Jeffries successfully united his entire caucus against the GOP spending package, which was unpopular due to cuts in federal programs and restrictions around spending set by Trump.
However, when the package reached the Senate, minority leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) blocked it with a filibuster, ultimately siding with Republicans to ensure it became law. This action upset House Democrats, particularly those in leadership, who are hoping for a different outcome in the upcoming spending negotiations this September.
