Washington — The Senate returns to Washington on Monday with less than two days to fund the government amid a stalemate between Democrats and Republicans on the path forward that has increased the likelihood of a government shutdown this week.
Lawmakers were away on recess last week after the House approved a GOP-led continuing resolution to keep the government funded until Nov. 21. But the measure fell short in the Senate, as Democrats pushed a counter-proposal that would keep the government funded through October, while attaching a handful of their priorities. That measure also failed to secure the necessary support for passage.
Republicans have 53 seats in the Senate, a majority. But with 60 votes needed to advance most legislation in the upper chamber, Republicans can’t approve a bill to fund the government without the help of Democrats.
With few opportunities to exert influence with a GOP-controlled House, Senate and White House, Democrats have been pushing to extract a more favorable outcome in the spending fight, facing pressure from their base to push back on the Trump administration’s policies. But the posture has proven complicated for the party that has repeatedly supported efforts to keep the government funded.
Democrats push for negotiations
Both parties have pushed for a stopgap measure to keep the government funded while work on full-year appropriations bills continues, but Democrats have advocated for weeks for taking the funding effort to the negotiating table, introducing a counter-proposal earlier this month that appeared to serve as an opening salvo.
While the Republican-led continuing resolution would fund the government until Nov. 21, the Democrats’ proposal includes one of their key priorities — extending expiring health insurance subsidies.
The proposal, which would extend government funding until Oct. 31 and boost security funding, includes a permanent extension of enhanced tax credits for Americans who purchase health insurance through the Affordable Care Act marketplace, which Democrats have suggested is a red line for their support. The subsidies, which were originally passed in 2021, are set to expire at the end of the year.
Also in their proposed measure to fund the government, Democrats included language to roll back Medicaid restrictions in President Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” and restore funding for public broadcasters that was rescinded earlier this year.
Democratic leaders have been pushing for a meeting with Mr. Trump on government funding. And the leaders are set to meet Monday with the president, alongside Senate Majority Leader John Thune and House Speaker Mike Johnson after the president canceled an initial meeting last week, citing the Democrats’ “unserious and ridiculous” demands.
Then, the Trump administration upped the ante last week, when the White House’s Office of Management and Budget sent a memo to federal agencies Wednesday telling them to consider reduction-in-force notices, or layoffs, for employees in programs, projects or activities that received discretionary funding.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer told NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday that he called Thune Friday and urged him to get the leaders together for a meeting. The next day, he said the White House told them the meeting was on for Monday afternoon.
The New York Democrat called the meeting a “first step,” saying “we need a serious negotiation.”
“I think they felt the heat, and they now want to sit down,” Schumer said. “But the fundamental question hasn’t been answered yet, and we’ll see on Monday: are they serious about negotiating with us in a real way?”
But Mr. Trump said Sunday that a government shutdown is likely unless top Democrats back down from their negotiating position, telling CBS News “I just don’t know how we are going to solve this issue.”
The shutdown blame game
Democrats and Republicans have preempted the possible shutdown in recent days, seeking to put the blame on the other party should Congress fail to fund the government — forcing federal agencies to halt non-essential functions.
With Republicans in the majority, Democrats have argued that they should bear responsibility for keeping the government open, and should be willing to negotiate to do so. But Republicans have insisted that there’s no need, since Democrats regularly support “clean” continuing resolutions to keep the government funded.
Thune told NBC that Democrats are using a seven-week funding resolution, designed to give lawmakers more time to work on the appropriations process, to “try and get a whole laundry list of things that they want,” accusing them of taking “the federal government as a hostage.” He added that he doesn’t know “what we’re supposed to be negotiating.”
“This is a simple, straightforward deal to keep the government running,” the South Dakota Republican said, urging that Democrats should help keep the government funded, and then have a conversation about extending the health care subsidies.
While Democrats have put the blame on Mr. Trump for a possible shutdown, Republicans have argued that any failure to fund the government will be Schumer’s doing.
Schumer has faced intense pressure from his party to stand up to the Trump administration and its policies in the spending fight, after he allowed Republicans to move ahead with their spending bill during the last funding dispute.
After pledging to fight the GOP funding plan in March, Schumer changed course at the eleventh hour and delivered one of the Democratic votes necessary to propel the partisan measure to passage and prevent a shutdown. Schumer argued at the time that a shutdown risked more damage, despite intense criticism from some within his own party.
But that was before Republicans in Congress approved their “big, beautiful bill,” which included restrictions to Medicaid that Democrats vehemently opposed, along with a rescissions package clawing back more than $9 billion in congressionally appropriated funds for foreign aid and public broadcasting. Now, Schumer’s posture appears to be different as well.
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