Senate GOP leaders have called for bipartisan cooperation to fund the government, yet Senate Democrats have warned that trust with their Republican colleagues is running thin. This tension is reflected in the upcoming key vote that could determine the government funding outcome for the next several months and whether a partial government shutdown looms. The vote on appropriations bills, which is usually a collaborative process, has turned acrimonious as some Democrats feel burned by how Republicans have pushed for spending cuts.
Senators are set to take a crucial vote on Tuesday that could determine the government funding for the next several months and whether a partial government, shutdown is in the works. The vote on appropriations bills, which is usually a collaborative effort, has turned contentious as some Democrats feel burned by how Republicans have pushed for spending cuts. Lawmakers in the Senate are preparing to vote on their first set of appropriations bills for the fiscal year, yet passage remains uncertain as Senate Democrats are ready to challenge the process in protest against recent GOP actions they claim have eroded trust in the funding process.
Senate Republicans advanced President Donald Trump’s $9 billion clawback package last week, which slashes funding from foreign aid programs and public broadcasting, including NPR and PBS. This came after Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer warned that passing the bill could have consequences for the typically bipartisan government funding process. Meanwhile, Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought noted that more rescissions would be on the way. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., emphasized that any consideration of spending bills would require ‘cooperation’ from Democrats, and that the upcoming vote would offer Republicans a glimpse of where their colleagues stand on funding the government before the Sept. 30 deadline.
Thune’s call for cooperation was met with skepticism from Schumer, who accused him of ‘talking out of both sides of his mouth.’ Schumer stated that the GOP’s recent actions had undermined bipartisan negotiations on funding, and that nothing was guaranteed. Among the bills that may be considered are spending packages that fund military construction and the VA, agriculture, the Food and Drug Administration, and the legislative branch. The bills will need at least 60 votes to clear the first procedural hurdle in the Senate.
Senate Democrats are set to meet on Tuesday afternoon to decide whether they will support the expected bill package. Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, said that he and his colleagues had yet to receive guidance from Democratic leadership, but noted that the threat of Democratic resistance was a problem of the GOP’s own making. He said that the GOP had an ‘obligation to give Democrats answers to how…they can guarantee that our votes mean anything.’
Sen. Mike Rounds, also a member of the spending panel, hoped that lawmakers could make the appropriations process work this year but acknowledged that Democratic resistance could lead Congress to once again turn to a government funding extension, known as a continuing resolution. He contended that if Democrats were willing to give up on a bipartisan process, it would only be to the advantage of the Trump administration. ‘So, part of it is, do we actually want an appropriations process,’ he said.