Wire Service
WASHINGTON — The Senate passed a six-month spending bill on Friday hours before a government shutdown, overcoming sharp Democratic opposition to the measure and sending it to President Donald Trump to be signed into law.
The vote was 54-46. Democrats voiced frustration that Republicans went ahead with a measure they said included little input from them, and one they viewed as shortchanging key priorities such as health care and housing assistance.
In the end, some viewed a shutdown as a worse outcome and supported Democratic leader Chuck Schumer’s effort to allow the bill to come to a final vote.
Democrats were confronted with two painful options: allowing passage of a bill they believe gives Trump vast discretion on spending decisions or voting no and letting a funding lapse ensue.
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“A shutdown will allow DOGE to shift into overdrive,” Schumer said, referring to the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency. “Donald Trump and Elon Musk would be free to destroy vital government services at a much faster rate.”
Schumer gave members of his caucus days to vent their frustration about the options before them, but abruptly switched course and made clear on the eve of voting that he would not allow a government shutdown. His move outraged many in the party who want to fight the Trump agenda, but gave senators room to side with Republicans and allow the continuing resolution, often described as a CR, to advance.
Democrats from all corners looked to pressure senators to kill the bill. House members wrote letters, posted on social media and held news conferences in the hours before the vote.
“The American people sent Democrats to Congress to fight against Republican dysfunction and chaos,” said a letter from 66 House Democrats to Schumer.
Schumer’s decision particularly rattled House Democrats, who were huddled at a retreat in a suburb of Washington, D.C.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries rushed back to Washington to hold an impromptu news conference on the spending bill. He refused to answer reporters’ questions about whether he backed Schumer’s leadership at a Friday news conference.
Some Democrats argued that Republicans would take the blame for a shutdown, given they control all the levers of power in Congress and the White House.
“If you refuse to put forward an offer that includes any Democratic input and you don’t get Democratic votes, that’s on Republicans,” said Sen. Patty Murray, the top Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., and others made the case that any blame for a shutdown would fall squarely on Democrats.
“Democrats need to decide if they’re going to support funding legislation that came over from the House, or if they’re going to shut down the government,” Thune said.
In contrast, Schumer picked up one unexpected nod of support — from Trump himself, who just a day earlier was gearing up to blame Democrats for any shutdown.
“Congratulations to Chuck Schumer for doing the right thing — Took ‘guts’ and courage!” the president posted on his social media account.
Schumer has acknowledged the difficult choice he faced, but insisted Democrats would not allow a government shutdown.
Schumer told Reuters he was unfazed by the criticism, or Jeffries’ refusal to say he had confidence in him.
“We’ve been friends for a long time. There are always going to be disagreements on issues,” Schumer said in a brief interview. “When I took my position, I knew some would disagree, but I felt shutting down the government would have been a disaster.”
Congress has been unable to pass the annual appropriations bills designed to fund the government, so they’ve resorted to passing short-term extensions instead. The legislation before the Senate was the third such continuing resolution for the current fiscal year, now nearly half over.
The legislation will fund the federal government through the end of September. It would trim non-defense spending by about $13 billion from the previous year and increase defense spending by about $6 billion, which are marginal changes when talking about a topline spending level of nearly $1.7 trillion.
The Republican-led House passed the spending bill on Tuesday and then adjourned. The move left senators with a decision to either take it or leave it. And while Democrats have been pushing for a vote on a fourth short-term extension, GOP leadership made clear that option was a nonstarter.
Progressive groups urged Democratic lawmakers to insist on the 30-day extension and oppose the spending bill, saying business as usual must not continue.
“There’s still time,” said Rep. Melanie Stansbury of New Mexico at a House Democratic retreat in Leesburg, Va. “So, any of my colleagues in the Senate who are considering voting on cloture, the American people are shouting: Please do not hand the keys over to Elon Musk.”
But Schumer said Trump would seize more power during a shutdown, because it would give the administration the ability to deem whole agencies, programs and personnel nonessential, furloughing staff with no promise they would ever be rehired.
Democrats have been critical of the funding levels in the bill. But they are more worried about the discretion the bill gives the Trump administration on spending decisions. Many Democrats referred to the measure as a “blank check” for Trump.
Spending bills typically come with specific funding directives for key programs, but hundreds of those directives fall away under the continuing resolution, so the administration will have more leeway to decide where the money goes.
For example, a Democratic memo said the bill would allow the administration to steer money away from combating fentanyl and instead use it on mass deportation initiatives.
Democrats also objected to clawing back $20 billion in special IRS funding, on top of the $20 billion rescission approved the year before through legislation passed by Democrats during Joe Biden’s presidency.
Reuters News Agency contributed to this report.
