Senators will vote Friday on two competing temporary funding plans for the government, heightening the risk of a shutdown. The Senate finalized plans for separate votes on Republican and Democratic stopgap measures after GOP leaders met behind closed doors. A shift from earlier indications by GOP leaders, who had suggested limited support for a Democratic proposal, led to the decision to hold both votes. Democrats played procedural hardball, forcing the agreement to have both bills considered. Both votes require a 20-vote threshold, meaning both will almost certainly fail, intensifying the political standoff.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer first floated the idea of voting together on the competing funding measures earlier Thursday morning. He touted the plan after it was finalized Thursday evening, saying that the outcome of the votes ‘will tell all.’ ‘Tomorrow Republicans can choose: Either listen to Donald Trump and shut the government down or break this logjam by supporting our bill and keeping the government open,’ he said from the Senate floor.
But the gambit appears poised to push Congress down to the wire, with senators largely unclear on what off-ramps are available to avoid a funding lapse. Thune said he did not speak to Schumer as part of the negotiations to lock in the two-bill plan. Thune said that it’s ‘unlikely’ the Senate will come back into town next week, meaning the next vote on the GOP’s stopgap bill would come on the evening of Monday, Sept. 29 — less than 48 hours before a potential shutdown.