WASHINGTON — Senate Democrats again voted down a stopgap funding bill on Tuesday, putting the federal government on track for a shutdown after midnight.
A House-passed bill to keep the government open with funding at current levels until Nov. 21 failed to clear the 60-vote legislative filibuster by five votes — with three Democrats voting in favor.
“Cracks on the Democratic side are starting to show,” Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) told reporters after Catherine Cortez-Masto of Nevada, John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, and Angus King of Maine joined 52 Republicans in voting to keep the government open.
Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) was the only Republican to vote against the stopgap spending bill.
“This is something that 13 times, when [Chuck Schumer] was the majority leader, we passed short-term continuing resolutions — 13 times — and the Republicans delivered the vote for it,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) said on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” Tuesday morning. “This is a routine thing. This is not unusual.”
The last shutdown occurred over 35 days between December 2018 and January 2019 during President Trump’s first term as he scrapped with Democrats over funding to extend a wall on the southern border.
This time, Democrats opposed the government spending bill if it didn’t extend key health care provisions — including ObamaCare subsidies set to expire at the end of 2025 — or put a stop to billions of dollars in cuts to foreign aid funding.
But the shutdown may also lead to firings of thousands of federal employees rather than the usual furloughs.
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Russ Vought sent a memo to agencies last week instructing them to prepare Reductions in Force (RIF) plans.
“Once fiscal year 2026 appropriations are enacted, agencies should revise their RIFs as needed to retain the minimal number of employees necessary to carry out statutory functions,” Vought noted in the memo, adding that the cuts would take effect after 60 days.
Republicans have also taken a page out of Democrats’ usual shutdown playbook and chided Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) for imperiling benefit programs and potentially public safety.
“Troops won’t be paid. TSA agents won’t be paid. The WIC program — the Women Infants and Children Nutrition program — and other food services will be delayed,” House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) added on CNBC Tuesday. “FEMA services won’t be provided. We have two hurricanes off the coast of the United States right now. I mean, we’re in the middle of hurricane season. This is serious stuff.”
In March, Schumer had called a shutdown “10 times worse” than even a partisan funding bill.
“Sometimes when you’re a leader, you have to do things to avoid a real danger that might come down the curve,” he said at the time.
The Brooklyn Democrat also warned against a September 2023 shutdown by noting how it would affect New York — which is home to 70,000 federal employees; 30,000 US military members and 400,000 people who rely on food stamp programs.
“A shutdown would degrade troop readiness and devastate our southern borders, something our friends on the other side who claim to care about border security conveniently ignore,” Schumer said during a similar fight in September 2023. “Small businesses would lose access to capital; home buyers would be unable to secure loans; our supply chains would be imperiled and costs to American families would go up and up.”
“The disgraceful reality is that Democrats are forcing a shutdown by voting NO on government funding because Chuck Schumer got absolutely walloped earlier this year by the radical Far Left because he voted to fund the government,” upstate Rep. Elise Stefanik fired back in a statement Tuesday.
“Until Democrats end their hypocritical and damaging shutdown hurting American families and workers, I have directed that my pay be withheld and have cosponsored legislation to ensure our servicemembers and law enforcement receive their pay,” she added.
Trump trolled Democratic congressional leaders following a Monday meeting at the White House by posting an AI-generated video to his Truth Social that featured Jeffries wearing a sombrero and standing silently beside Schumer as he talked about the need to give “illegal aliens free health care.”
“Bigotry will get you nowhere. Cancel the Cuts. Lower the Cost. Save Healthcare. We are NOT backing down,” Jeffries shot back on his X account in response to the fake clip.
All but two House GOP lawmakers had voted to pass the funding bill and send it to the Senate on Sept. 19 — where it failed for a first time.
Just one Democrat, Rep. Jared Golden of Maine, supported that legislation, while every other member of his party voted it down.
During a shutdown, lawmakers are still paid, but political appointees must determine which agencies, employees and services are “essential” to government operations, which include those in military or national security positions, among others.
The 2019 shutdown ended in part because of concerns about the safety of plane passengers due to overworked air traffic controllers.
Social Security, Medicaid and Medicare payments will continue to be paid out and the US Postal Service will keep delivering mail, but most national parks and DC museums will close down.
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