It was a battle of dueling government funding bills on the Senate floor on Friday, September 19. Democrats and Republicans each backed their own versions of a continuing resolution, but both failed, leaving just days to pass something to avoid a shutdown.
The House passed the Republican version of the resolution 217 to 212, largely along party lines. But the Senate shot it down 44 to 38 – far from the 60-vote threshold needed for it to pass.
Senator John Fetterman (D-PA) broke from his party and voted for the GOP bill. Republicans Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Kentucky’s Rand Paul voted against the Republican option. Democrats in the upper chamber put forth their own resolution, which failed 47 to 45. The difference between the competing bills was significant.
Contrast Between Funding Bills
“It’s a fundamentally unserious proposal designed to appease Democrats’ liberal base,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) said, adding that it had no chance of passing Congress. He went on to say that the Democrat-backed resolution would allow non-citizens and able-bodied Americans who won’t work to continue to receive Medicaid while ripping away funds for investment in home and community-based services for Americans with disabilities.
Thune acknowledged that Senate Democrats had the power to shut down the government, but he urged his colleagues across the aisle to pass the Republican’s clean, non-partisan resolution. Democrats had, after all, supported clean continuing resolutions 13 times before under Joe Biden.
The GOP bill would have funded the government for another seven weeks and allowed the Senate to complete appropriations work. The Democrats’ funding bill would have funded the government until October 31 and extended the Affordable Care Act insurance subsidies, which are otherwise set to expire on December 31.
The cost of permanently extending those health insurance subsidies would increase the deficit by $350 billion from 2026 to 2025, and the number of people insured by 3.8 million in ten years, according to the Congressional Budget Office.
Stepping to the Brink Again
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) urged his fellow Democrats to vote on their bill, invoking President Donald Trump’s name 26 times in his 12-minute speech on the floor. That speech quickly turned to lashing out at the president, the OMB Director Russell Vought, and FCC Chair Brendan Carr.
“Today, we have a rare moment in the Senate, where two bills come to the floor that truly crystalize the contrast between the two parties,” Sen. Schumer said, “On the Republican side, Americans will see more of the same high costs, especially on healthcare, more of the same failures of the last night months. Or, instead, Republicans can vote to undo the destruction Donald Trump has inflicted on American healthcare, and instead work on a bipartisan bill, the only bipartisan bill that can win.”
On that note of bipartisanship, Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY) read a “Dear Colleague” letter Schumer wrote in September 2022, when he held the Senate Majority Leadership, “We cannot afford brinkmanship or hostage taking,” Barrasso read from Schumer’s letter, “The only way to avoid a shutdown is through bipartisanship.” Barrasso called Schumer’s demand to pass the Democrats’ bill a “a $1 trillion ransom note” for four weeks of funding the government.
“We were told that the COVID bonus subsidies would be temporary. Democrats now want to turn them into a permanent government giveaway,” Barrasso said, “The Nobel-winning economist Milton Friedman was right. He said ‘Nothing is more permanent than a temporary government program.’”
Barrasso broke down the “partisan political poison pills” contained in the Democrats’ bill. “Democrats would rather shut down the government than stop states from paying for free health care for illegal immigrants,” Barrasso said, “Democrats want to continue to give Medicaid to able-bodied working-age adults who refuse to work.” Barrasso also chided Senate Democrats for including billions of dollars in radical climate projects overseas in their funding bill.
President Trump commented Friday on the Senate showdown, thanking Sen. Fetterman for voting to keep the government open. “Republicans won presidential [election],” he said, “We won the popular vote by a lot. We won all seven swing states. We won the electoral college by a lot. We won most U.S. counties in a total landslide,” the president said, “So, we won most. It's a very big statistic. We won the counties in a number that I don't believe has been hit before, 2,600 counties versus 525 counties for the Democrats. So, the Democrats really should start respecting what takes place at the voter booth.”
Shutdown Uncertainty
Both the House and Senate will be out of session next week in honor of the Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashanah. Senators will return on Monday, Sept. 29. House Republican leadership advised members Friday that votes were canceled for Sept. 29-30.
Judging by Friday’s vote, Senate Democrats appear to be backing Schumer’s demands. Republicans have said previously the ACA tax credit extension can be handled before they expire. It’s highly unlikely they’ll vote for a bill that claw back the Medicaid reforms they just passed in their omnibus One Big Beautiful Bill Act, or overseas climate change programs.
For now, Senate Republicans can keep pointing to Schumer’s recent history of calling for bipartisanship and passing continuing resolutions under a Democrat president. A government shutdown appears imminent unless Senate Democrats blink.
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