A small number of democratic exiles highlighted hints of a rift within the party’s moderate faction as closure approached.
Senate rejects funding bill as partial government shutdown
The senator rejected the fundraising extension plan, making it an immediate partial government shutdown.
WASHINGTON – As clocks were etched into a partial government shutdown on September 30, Senate Democrats voted for a fundraising measure to support Republicans, which had kept the lights down.
John Fetterman of Pennsylvania and Katherine Cortez Mast of Nevada will cast support behind the GOP bill and will keep the government open until November 21st.
“President Trump and Congressional Republicans are already hurting Nevadan, who is dealing with high costs, slowing the economy and the looming health care crisis,” Cortez Masto said in a statement after the vote. “That’s why we can’t support the costly shutdown that hurts Nevada’s families and takes even more strength into this reckless administration.”
Still, the funding extension didn’t win 55-45 votes, with all other Democrats and Senator R-Kentucky opposed. Republicans have a narrow majority in the Senate, and more than half a dozen Democrats would need to join them to overcome the Senate’s 60-vote threshold.
Early in the evening, another budget bill from the Democrats also failed with a party-affiliated vote of 47-53. The measure overturned Medicaid and public media cuts, expanded health insurance subsidies, and created safeguards to prevent the White House from withholding Congress’s allotted funds.
The relatively few exiles have emphasized the federal government’s plans to enter shutdown, highlighting general unity within the Democrats, and confronting the Trump administration at a political moment.
But it also highlighted some fearful hints among some Democrats about the possible consequences that the closure could reap for Americans, particularly federal workers. The White House is threatening civil servant layoffs on top of attack if they are closed. The agency is already on track to lose around 300,000 employees this year due to shootings, acquisitions, retirements and other departures.
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.
