Senate Fails For Ninth Time to Advance Government Funding Plan
Negotiations to break the partisan impasse remain virtually nonexistent.
The Senate rejected a GOP-led funding bill for the ninth time Wednesday, all but guaranteeing the shutdown will stretch into next week, at least.
Senators voted 51-44 on the stopgap, which would fund the government through Nov. 21. Democratic Sens. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania and Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada — alongside independent Sen. Angus King of Maine, who caucuses with Democrats — each voted to advance the GOP bill, just as they have done previously
The Senate is expected to vote again Thursday on the House-passed stopgap spending bill without any reasonable expectation there will be a different outcome.
“This shutdown is going to last a while. I think it’s going to be the longest shutdown in the history of ever,” Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) predicted Wednesday.
Republicans are increasing their pressure tactics to shake loose an additional five Democrats to break rank. That includes blocking Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer from forcing a vote on his party’s counterproposal, which would fund the government through October, enact new health policies and put guardrails on the Trump administration’s ability to claw back congressionally approved spending.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune said there are ongoing bipartisan conversations happening among rank-and-file members but that he didn’t see the dynamic changing this week.
“I’m hoping that in some of their conversations they’ll get more realistic. But, yeah, this needs to end,” Thune told reporters on Wednesday.
So far, Democrats appear unbowed unless Republicans come to the negotiating table regarding an extension of enhanced Affordable Care Act tax credits, which are due to expire at the end of the year.
“They won’t even negotiate with us,” Schumer said when asked if Democrats should scale back their demands.
In the meantime, the administration is moving ahead with firing federal workers and threatening to withhold back pay for furloughed government employees — though there are early indications each of these actions would face headwinds in the courts.
The stalemate over the stopgap funding bill comes as GOP leadership is trying to move larger, full-year funding bills. The Senate will vote Thursday to proceed to the House-passed measure funding the Defense Department, but Schumer declined to say Wednesday if Democrats would help shore up the necessary support.
