U.S. Senate Democrats huddled for hours on Wednesday plotting a course forward on a stopgap funding bill passed by the Republican-controlled House, with only two more days remaining before a partial government shutdown would be triggered.
In a gambit that is unlikely to succeed, Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer of New York called for a one-month extension of existing spending with the aim of providing time to complete more comprehensive appropriations bills for this year.
Schumer warned that his caucus of 47 senators "is unified" in opposing the 6-1/2 month funding bill passed by the House with only one Democrat there voting in favor of it.
Blocking the bill would require at least 41 of Schumer's Democrats to vote against limiting debate on it, which could stop the measure dead in its tracks and could lead to a partial shutdown, which Democrats have long opposed as needless chaos. Their wariness of a shutdown comes amid Trump's rapid-fire campaign to unilaterally shutter many federal operations, which Democrats note is already causing disruption.
"I hope our Republican colleagues will join us to avoid a shutdown on Friday," Schumer said in a short speech to the Senate.
Republicans moved to place the blame squarely on Democrats.
"If they decide to shut down the government, it's 100% a Schumer shutdown at that point,” Republican Senator Markwayne Mullin told Reuters.
The bill would achieve some reductions in non-defense programs and beef up military spending, while handing Trump more say over how the money would be spent.
Democrats are seeking votes that could highlight spending cuts that many of their voters oppose.
Americans are broadly supportive of the idea of cutting the size of the federal government, with 59% of respondents to a Reuters/Ipsos poll completed on Wednesday saying they supported that goal. But they expressed concern about the way Trump was going about doing so, with a similar 59% saying the opposed the moves to fire tens of thousands of federal workers.
Senator John Fetterman, a Pennsylvania Democrat who did not attend his party's mid-day meeting, downplayed options for his party.
"I'm not sure how realistic you're going to have any other choices than the one that's in front of us," Fetterman told reporters, referring to the House-passed funding bill.
Fetterman criticized elements of the House-passed bill, such as a nearly $1 billion cut to the District of Columbia's budget, which Democrats argued is financed with city residents' and businesses' tax payments.
Nonetheless, Fetterman said he is willing to vote for the House-passed bill, adding, "I will never vote for chaos -- or even more chaos than we are already in right now by forcing a government shutdown."
Congressional brinkmanship, including repeated near-misses with shutdowns and over the nation's $36 trillion in debt, has contributed to global ratings agencies' moves to downgrade the U.S. federal government's once-pristine credit rating.
© (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2025.
22 Comments
Blacklabel
Looks like we gonna have a “Schumer Shutdown”
government shutdowns are still “bad” right?
Negative impacts on families and government employees and the military and our economy, wasn’t it?
Underworld
Blacklabel
The GOP have the majority, so they own the shutdown if it happens.
TaiwanIsNotChina
I don't know the full details of what sort of increased power a shutdown will give the fascist administration, but I also believe that the American people need the full dose of the medicine they selected.
TaiwanIsNotChina
No interest in people getting their DOGE checks? Eventually even the MAGA will begin to understand that he needs a functioning federal government.
Blacklabel
Oh yes please! We want everything we voted for, all of it!
TaiwanIsNotChina
Disingenuous BS: this is not a clean CR.
TaiwanIsNotChina
The question is whether the soccer mom wants everything you voted for.
Some dude
This stuff fascinates us non-Americans. The purportedly most powerful nation in the world seems to make an annual event of this whole "we're going to shut down the entire government over political ideology" thing.
It's as if neither side really gives a toss about the country at all.
Blacklabel
if she voted for Trump, she does.
I'veSeenFootage
The idea that all people who voted for Trump support 100% of his ideas and actions is profoundly inane. Trump otakus are barely 30% of the electorate.
Blacklabel
and there it is, Schumer shutdown.
“Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer announces that Senate Democrats will BLOCK the CR passed by the House Republicans.
"Republicans do not have the votes in the Senate to invoke cloture on the House CR."
bass4funk
Now the show is on the other foot.
Checkmate
I'veSeenFootage
And that certainly isn't an usual place for shows to be.
Blacklabel
Wow, really zero interest from the usuals in Democrats announcing they will shut down the government.
bass4funk
Libs are strange, when they’re in power they welcome a shutdown, when they’re not in power, they panic and scream doom and gloom
Tokyo Guy
So the Russia cult can't keep the government open despite holding the presidency, the house, and the senate?
No wonder the economy is in freefall and the rest of the world is laughing at us.
bass4funk
No Russian cult.
Schumer wants a shutdown, so, so very strange this bizarre man, when he was Senate majority leader, he loved shutdowns
Well, because it’s not being run by a bunch of brain-dead politicians, and if the world laughs at us, that’s fine, we do the same.
WoodyLee
""with only two more days remaining before a partial government shutdown""
Again and Again and Again, this roller coaster Must End, this Game Must End, peoples livelihood is hanging on these gamblers votes and it should NOT BE this way.
There has to be better ways to fund the government without these clowns votes or interference
TaiwanIsNotChina
Because all cultists are the same?
TaiwanIsNotChina
Good luck selling that when MAGAs control three branches of government.
"Did you work with the other side?"
(...furious backpedaling by MAGAs)
TaiwanIsNotChina
This is the only option for Democrats as MAGA-Putins only understand strength.
bass4funk
I don’t think they understand anything, that’s why they’re out of power, their policies put them in the unemployment zone