Congress has until midnight tonight to avert a government shutdown.
WASHINGTON—The U.S. Senate on March 14 advanced a House-approved bill to keep the government open hours before a shutdown is set to begin.
After days of speculation about its ultimate fate in the upper chamber, the Senate invoked cloture on the bill in a 62–38 vote on Friday afternoon. Ten Democrats joined 52 Republicans in advancing the legislation, clearing the 60 votes needed to bypass the filibuster.
Alongside Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), Sens. Catherine Cortez-Masto (D-N.Y.), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Angus King (I-Maine), Gary Peters (D-Mich), Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), and John Fetterman (D-Pa.) backed the package.
The procedural step effectively locks down passage of the final bill, which requires a simple majority to clear. The Senate will now vote on four likely-to-fail amendments and then proceed to the final vote ahead of a midnight shutdown deadline.
President Donald Trump congratulated Schumer for “doing the right thing,” adding that the Senate minority leader’s decision took “’guts’ and courage.”
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It increases defense spending by about $6 billion while cutting non-defense spending by $13 billion compared to last year’s levels. Overall, the measure reduces spending by about $7 billion from the previous year.
The Senate will now proceed on four amendment votes—including an amendment to slash the duration of the stopgap to 30 days put forward by Democrats, and another from Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) to implement certain proposals of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)—before the final vote.
All are likely to fail, as any amendment would require another vote by the House, which has already gone into recess, and delay government funding beyond the midnight shutdown deadline.
Additionally, Schumer announced on Friday that senators will vote on a bipartisan bill related to funding for Washington, that would reverse an approximately $1.1 billion cut to the city’s budget included in the stopgap spending bill.
For Democrats, the fight over the bill could have implications stretching beyond the current dispute—particularly for Schumer, who is facing backlash from the progressive base and many House Democrats.
Schumer Defends Reversal
When Schumer announced his decision to hesitantly back the legislation on Thursday, the Senate minority leader made clear that he perceived this course as the best available to Democrats.
“The [stopgap] is a bad bill,” Schumer said minutes ahead of the cloture vote on March 14, reiterating his earlier comments. “But as bad as [it] is, I believe that allowing Donald Trump to take more power is worse.
Rather than framing his support as a vote for the spending bill, Schumer framed it as a vote against a shutdown, saying on March 13, “I will vote to keep the government open and not shut down the government.”
He said that Republicans were presenting Democrats with a “Hobson’s choice,” a choice that appears to offer two alternatives but offers only one realistic option.
Schumer argued that a shutdown would enable Trump and Elon Musk to unilaterally implement many of the personnel and funding cuts proposed by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). This would be a result of the heightened authorities the president has during a shutdown to determine which employees and services are essential, he said.
Since Schumer’s reversal, Sen. Catherine Cortez-Masto (D-Nev.) has also come out in favor of invoking cloture, saying in a statement, “A government shutdown would be devastating for the American people.”
Like Schumer, she tied her backing to concerns that a shutdown would expand Trump’s authority.
Backlash from House Democrats
Schumer’s decision to change course on the funding plan immediately prompted criticism from the party’s left flank and House Democrats.
Top-ranking Democrats like House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) and Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) have been hesitant to rubber-stamp the move.
Jeffries on Friday declined to defend his upper chamber counterpart during a press conference.
Asked whether it was time for new leadership in the Senate, Jeffries sidestepped, responding, “Next question.” Jeffries also dismissed questions about whether he has confidence in Schumer.
Pelosi also rejected Schumer’s plan in favor of an alternative 30-day funding bill put forward by House Appropriations Committee Ranking Member Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) and Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.).
“We must fight back for a better way. Listen to the women, For The People,” she added.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), a progressive Democrat seen as a potential Senate contender one day, has also strongly criticized her state’s senior senator.
She called the move “a huge slap in the face,” describing “a wide sense of betrayal” within the party.
Original News Source Link – Epoch Times
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