Schumer: Senate Dems Will Not Vote for GOP Budget, Demand 30-Day CR as Shutdown Looms

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Senate Democrats refuse to advance a six-month government funding bill passed by the Republican-led House. Instead, they are demanding a 30-day stopgap measure to buy more time for negotiations, but they lack the ability to call a vote and no clear strategy.

Key Facts:

  • Senate Democrats oppose the House-passed six-month funding bill, which increases defense spending while cutting nondefense programs.
  • They insist on a 30-day funding stopgap, claiming it will allow for bipartisan negotiations.
  • Republicans hold a 53-47 Senate majority, meaning 13 GOP votes would be needed to advance the Democratic plan.
  • The House has adjourned for the week, making it unlikely that any Senate-passed measure will be reconsidered before the Friday deadline.
  • Democratic leadership remains divided, with some senators warning that rejecting the House bill could backfire politically.

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The Rest of The Story:

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has declared that Democrats will not support the House-approved funding bill.

Instead, they are pushing for a short-term solution, arguing it would give Congress more time to negotiate a full-year spending package.

However, Republicans are showing no signs of supporting this alternative.

Adding to the pressure, the House has already adjourned, meaning that even if the Senate manages to pass a 30-day measure, there’s little chance the House will act on it before funding runs out.

Some Democrats, like Sen. John Fetterman, warn that shutting down the government would be politically disastrous.

“I’ve been very clear: I’m not going [to] vote or withhold my vote that’s going to shut down the government,” Fetterman told The Hill.

“For me, if the Democrats think that they want to burn the village down to save it, that’s terrible optics and that’s going to have serious impacts for millions and millions of people,” he continued. “I’m never going to vote for that kind of chaos.”

Other Democrats admit they have no unified plan.

“The conversation today was divided. I can’t say we have a strategy,” a Democratic senator who wished to remain anonymous told The Hill. “There are a lot of people who haven’t made a decision.”

“The CR is a terrible bill … but a shutdown has terrible consequences,” the source continued. “Elon Musk is trying to shut down the government. If we shut down the government, it takes the blame away from him and it puts the blame on us for chaos and confusion.”

Meanwhile, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries is trying to keep Senate Democrats in line to oppose the GOP-backed bill.

Commentary:

Democrats are caught in a bind of their own making.

For years, they have condemned government shutdowns as reckless and harmful, yet now they are the ones standing in the way of keeping the government open.

Their refusal to negotiate on the House bill only exposes their lack of leadership and inability to govern.

They have no budget of their own, no real leverage, and no clear strategy. Even their own senators admit they are divided.

This latest maneuver is nothing more than a political stunt—an attempt to shift blame to Republicans while avoiding responsibility for their own failures.

Meanwhile, the American people are demanding deep spending cuts and a return to fiscal responsibility.

Democrats continue to push bloated budgets and unnecessary programs while pretending to be the voice of reason.

But their obstructionism only makes it clearer: they are more interested in playing politics than actually addressing the issues.

Democrats would rather let the government shut down than give Republicans a win.

This is about optics, not governance. And the longer they drag their feet, the worse it will look for them.

The Bottom Line:

Democrats’ refusal to support the House’s spending bill has put them in a political corner.

They don’t have a plan, they don’t have the votes, and they don’t have time.

If the government shuts down, they will have no one to blame but themselves.

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