With the week of holiday approaching, lawmakers now have several days to avoid government funding lapses. It doesn’t look good.
Rep. Mike Johnson says Dems’ stance could lead to the closure on October 1st
House Speaker Mike Johnson says Democrats may force government shutdowns as the deadline is approaching October 1st.
WASHINGTON – Hours after StopGup government funding measures passed the House, the Senate overthrew it, raising prospects for a shutdown in more than a week.
The senator voted against Bill 48-44, backed by the GOP.
On the same day, Senate Republicans also defeated the Democratic version of an extension of government fundraising. Their laws that GOP leaders denounced as partisanship would have overturned Medicaid cuts and extended Obamacare subsidies, which expire at the end of the year.
Moreover, the Democratic bill would have been set for stone protection to prevent the White House from withholding money allocated by Congress.
As lawmakers prepared to postpone ahead of next week’s Jewish holiday, their fingertips were fully on display on Capitol Hill.
Speaking to reporters before the vote, Senate majority leader John Toon, R-South Dakota, said President Donald Trump was ready to sign a seven-week fundraising extension for the GOP. If it survived Congress, that’s it.
Instead, Democrats “put out the most partisan law possible to cling to the ongoing resolution to fund the government for seven weeks,” he said. “It’s daunting.”
In a speech from the Senate floor, Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer claimed that Americans are tired of the Trump administration’s agenda. Democrats had to take a stand to protect American health care, he said.
“Republicans vote to make sure the status quo is enough. They’re wrong,” Schumer said. “By trying to create this party by not even negotiating, Donald Trump and Republicans are shutting down the government.”
If lawmakers don’t come back next week, they will come back on September 29th and give them just two days to avoid a shutdown. Funds expire in the middle of the night on September 30th.
Zachary Schermele is a council reporter for USA Today. You can contact him by email at zschermele@usatoday.com. Follow him on X at @Zachschermele and follow Bluesky at @Zachschermele.bsky.social.
