Schumer’s Bid To Shut Down Government Exposes Democratic Fissures

Senate Democrats blocked a clean extension of government funding late Tuesday evening, but a handful of Democrats bucked Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer in an effort to avert a looming government shutdown. 

Three members of the Democratic caucus — Sens. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada and Angus King of Maine — voted with Republicans to fund the government. The bipartisan spending bill still failed to clear the upper chamber’s 60-vote threshold during a vote of 55 to 45.  (RELATED: Democrats Who Voted Against Funding Government Are Suddenly Hysterical About ‘Harm’ Shutdown Would Unleash)

The vote highlighted internal disagreement among Senate Democrats over whether to plunge the country into a government shutdown. The trio notably voted with Schumer to prevent a government funding lapse in March.

“[I] cannot support a costly government shutdown that would hurt Nevada families and hand even more power to this reckless administration,” Cortez Masto said in part in a statement following the vote.

Republican Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul voted down the measure with Democrats, citing the funding measure’s failure to cut spending.

President Donald Trump said Tuesday that he believes a shutdown is likely given Democrats’ refusal to back the seven-week stopgap measure to temporarily fund the government through Nov. 21.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune attributed the Democratic caucus members backing the GOP spending bill as a prime example of intraparty dissent with Schumer’s intention to shut down the government.

“I think that there is a recognition that the strategy that the Democrat leadership is employing here is the wrong one,” Thune said during a press conference following the vote. “We’re going to have some more votes, and we’ll see where the Democrats come down.”

Government funding will lapse on Wednesday at 12:01 a.m. if the Senate does not approve the House-passed funding measure by the deadline. Top Democrats have thus far signaled they are willing to shut down the government if GOP lawmakers and Trump do not agree to their various demands.

Schumer’s hardball tactics in the current funding fight are a stark departure from his decision to work with Republicans to fund the government in March. The move drew the ire of his fellow Democrats, exposed intraparty disagreement and sparked talk of a competitive primary challenge when he is up for reelection in 2028.

A funding lapse could have far-reaching consequences across the federal government with the White House warning that critical nutrition assistance programs for low-income women and children will expire on Oct. 1. Congress has sent zero appropriations bills to Trump’s desk for the upcoming fiscal year, meaning that a shutdown would affect every agency.

The failed vote was marking the second time Schumer has led Democrats in skirting Republicans’ efforts to fund the government ahead of the Oct. 1 deadline.

Democrats filibustered the same House-passed bill on Sept. 19 immediately following its passage in the lower chamber largely along party lines. 

Democrats’ $1.5 trillion counter-proposal that would undo cuts to foreign aid and public broadcasting as well as reverse GOP reforms to Medicaid also failed to get the requisite 60 votes to clear the upper chamber.

Senate Republicans hounded Democrats on Tuesday over their hypocrisy on rejecting a short-term spending bill despite rubber-stamping 13 similar measures under former President Joe Biden.

Republicans have also highlighted Democrats’ previous opposition to shutting the government down over unrelated policy demands. 

“The Minority Leader once again refused to admit it is Democrats who are driving America into a shutdown. Let me remind everyone what Senator Schumer himself said in 2013,” Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso said on the Senate floor on Tuesday. “He said, ‘What if I persuaded my caucus to say, ‘I am going to shut the government down… unless I get my way?’ It’s a politics of idiocy. A shutdown is idiocy.’”

Still, Schumer and the majority of his caucus are demanding Republicans agree to their policy concessions in exchange for keeping the government open.

Democrats have been largely silent about how they plan to end a government shutdown if Republicans keep balking at their requests. 

“We also believe the fact that they wouldn’t negotiate with us, which became clear last week … the American people don’t like that,” Schumer said Tuesday during a Democratic leadership press conference. “So we think we’re on our front foot as we go into this fight.”

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