- Sen. Chuck Schumer says he’s weighed the consequences of a government shutdown, and is willing to vote for the House-approved funding bill. He said that while the bill was bad, “a shutdown has consequences for America that are much, much worse.”
- Some Democrats worry that a shutdown could be used by the Trump administration to fire more federal workers.
- But there is dissent, with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez saying, “To me it is almost unthinkable why Senate Democrats would vote to hand the few pieces of leverage that we have away for free.”
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Some Senate Democrats are about to vote for a government funding bill that they strongly opposed, and still describe as very bad. But with a government shutdown imminent and uncertainty about how it would impact federal workers and the economy, their leader has announced it’s best to vote to keep the government open, two days after he said Democrats would not support the package on the table.
“While the CR bill is very bad, the potential for a shutdown has consequences for America that are much, much worse,” Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said during a speech Thursday, March 13.
Schumer gave multiple reasons for changing his vote, which gives his caucus the green light to vote yes as well.
Democrats said the biggest concern is that Donald Trump could determine which employees are essential and have to continue working without pay and which get furloughed. They contend that the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) could also use it as a tool to essentially lay more people off.
“Under a shutdown, the Trump administration would have full authority to deem whole agencies, programs and personnel nonessential, furloughing staff with no promise that they would ever be rehired,” Schumer said.
Not all Democrats are ready to vote for the bill
House Democrats voted nearly in unison against the funding package. Progressives are not happy with Schumer’s decision.
“To me it is almost unthinkable why Senate Democrats would vote to hand the few pieces of leverage that we have away for free,” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., said on CNN.
Sen. John Fetterman appeared to be the only Senate Democrat who said he’d vote in favor of the bill, even before Schumer flipped his stance.
Democrats had been asking for a 30-day extension so a deal could be made on funding that would last for the rest of the year. They described the current package in stark terms.
“I’m just talking about the outrage that what the Republicans are doing is not a CR, it’s a license to destroy,” Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., told reporters Thursday morning.
What are Republicans saying?
Republicans say that it’s the fault of Democrats that they’re in this position in the first place.
Congress needs to pass 12 appropriations bills every year to fund the government. Last year, when Democrats had the majority, Schumer didn’t hold a vote on any of them, despite the fact that they had bipartisan support.
“Month after month, leader Schumer found something more important to do than fund the government. And not one, one of those bipartisan bills ever came to the floor. So today we’re trying to finish up last year’s work so we can begin,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said.
This budget package is just the beginning of the budget battle for Congress. It’s already time to begin work on government funding for fiscal year 2026, which begins in October.
