WASHINGTON– Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., suggested Thursday he would certainly elect to advancement Republicans’ six-month financing costs that passed the House to avoid a federal government closure Friday evening.
The relocation is a significant giving in from Schumer, accepting the GOP procedure just one day after he vowed that Democrats would not permit it to pass. It suggests the costs is most likely to locate adequate ballots to get rid of the 60-vote limit and ultimately pass with an easy bulk, also as an expanding variety of Senate Democrats appeared against it Thursday.
“There are no winners in a government shutdown,” Schumer stated in a flooring speech. “It’s not really a decision; it’s a Hobson’s choice: Either proceed with the bill before us or risk Donald Trump throwing America into the chaos of a shutdown.
“For sure, the Republican costs is an awful choice. It is not a tidy CR[continuing resolution] It is deeply partial. It does not deal with much way too many of this nation’s requirements. But I think enabling Donald Trump to take also far more power using a federal government closure is a much even worse choice,” he added. ” I will certainly elect to maintain the federal government open and not close it down.”
Schumer informed his colleagues in a closed-door meeting that he would vote for the procedural motion to advance the funding bill when it comes to the Senate floor Friday, according to a source familiar with his remarks. The New York Times first reported Schumer’s private comments.
If the Senate passes the bill, it would then go to President Donald Trump’s desk for a signature. A shutdown occurs after 11:59 p.m. ET Friday if no law is enacted by then.
“We have a selection in between horrible and horrible,” said Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga.
It’s unclear what, if anything, Schumer got in return for his decision to allow the House bill to proceed. He told reporters after his Senate speech that Democrats would ” attempt to obtain some modifications on the costs.”
Before his comments, Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., hinted that Democrats could try to secure a vote on an amendment to the House bill to turn it into a 30-day, rather than a six-month, stopgap measure. But he didn’t commit to dropping opposition to the bill if the amendment were voted down.
John Fetterman, of Pennsylvania, is the only Senate Democrat who has said he’d vote to advance the House bill; several others have stayed quiet about how they would handle a procedural vote. Schumer told reporters that ” participants are making their very own choices today.”
Earlier in the day, a growing number of Senate Democrats vowed to oppose the legislation. They included John Hickenlooper, of Colorado, who called the bill ” unsafe”; Mark Kelly, of Arizona, who said it would ” offer unattended power to Donald Trump and Elon Musk”; Ruben Gallego, of Arizona, who blasted it as ” a grab bag of severe plans”; and Mark Warner, of Virginia, who called it ” an awful bargain” that would hurt Virginia.
“One point is specific: If we pass this proceeding resolution for the following fifty percent year, we will certainly have what the head of state does,” said Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif. ” I am not happy to take possession of that.”
From outside the Democratic lunch meeting, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., could be heard yelling about devastating impacts of a government shutdown, particularly now.
Senators have faced heavy pressure from House Democratic colleagues and liberal advocates outside of the Capitol to hold the line against the funding bill, which was crafted by Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and the White House.
Earlier this week, just one House Democrat, Rep. Jared Golden of Maine, voted for the bill, which party leaders in the chamber railed against.
After Schumer spoke on the Senate floor, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., told reporters there is a ” deep feeling of outrage and dishonesty” from House Democrats.
“There are participants of Congress that have actually won Trump- held areas in a few of one of the most challenging area in the United States, that strolled the slab and took numerous dangers in order to protect the American individuals, in order to protect Social Security, Medicaid andMedicare … Just to see some Senate Democrats also think about giving in to Elon Musk, I believe it is a massive put in the face, and I believe that there is a vast feeling of dishonesty if points continue as presently intended,” she said.
Yet even as some Democrats were rallying against the House GOP bill, they struggled to offer a plausible endgame to avert a shutdown — or reopen the government if funding lapses after Friday night. They demanded a 30-day stopgap measure to continue funding at status quo levels to reach a full funding deal for fiscal year 2025.
That discombobulated approach clashes with the fact that Trump and Johnson have said they don’t want an appropriations deal for a fiscal year that is already half over, as they want to move on to their party-line budget bill to address taxes, immigration and other priorities.
“We’re attempting to persuade them. Now, they can be persuaded or skeptical,” Sen. John Hickenlooper, D-Colo., said about the GOP’s rejection of a new appropriations deal.
Democratic senators have cited numerous objections to the House bill.
First, they had no input in developing it — some in the party fear that voting for it would empower Johnson and Trump to dictate outcomes without negotiating with Democrats to earn their votes.
Second, they object to provisions that would cut nondefense domestic spending by billions of dollars, including a hit to Washington, D.C.’s budget, while boosting military spending — a move they see as sacrificing Democratic priorities for GOP priorities.
Third, they worry that voting for the measure without guardrails on executive power would green-light Trump and billionaire adviser Elon Musk’s moves to dismantle parts of the federal government or refuse to spend money directed by Congress.
A new memo Thursday from the Center for American Progress Action Fund, led by longtime Democratic adviser Neera Tanden, called on the party to hold the line against the House Republican bill, making the policy and messaging case for it.
“While the repercussions of a closure are genuine, Democrats bear no obligation as a matter of fact or in public understanding if they remain to sustain a tidy CR or tidy 30-day CR. However, sustaining the MAGA strategy will certainly sap energy that is constructing versus Republicans,” said the memo, which NBC News obtained from a congressional Democratic source who received it. “Lawmakers need to concentrate on linking the supposed CR to just how the Administration and DOGE are proactively triggering extreme damage.”
Some Democrats believe voters will blame Republicans in the event of a government shutdown. In a new Quinnipiac University national poll, 53% of registered voters said they would blame Trump or Republicans in Congress if the government shut down; 32% said they would blame Democrats. Another 15% didn’t know or wouldn’t say.
“Jiminy Christmas! Republicans regulate the House, Senate and White House,” said Sen. Ben Ray Luján, D-N.M.
But Senate Republican leaders say it’s time to dispense with the debate over fiscal 2025 funding, and Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said Thursday on the floor that the House bill was the only path to prevent a shutdown.
“Democrats require to choose if they’re mosting likely to sustain financing regulations that came from the House or if they’re mosting likely to close down the federal government,” he said.
Schumer told reporters after his floor speech that he’s convinced he made the right decision because of how difficult it would be to reopen the government.
“There is no off-ramp,” he said. “Anyone that believes there may be an off-ramp recognizes it depends upon the Republicans, and I do not trust them in all. I believe they desire a closure, and I believe they intend to utilize the closure to annihilate the federal government.”
