The News
The US Senate, overcoming strong Democratic opposition, passed a six-month GOP funding bill 54-46, averting a government shutdown Friday. The bill will be sent to President Donald Trump’s desk to be signed into law.
One Democratic senator, New Hampshire’s Jeanne Shaheen, voted yes on the bill, while Sen. Rand Paul was the lone Republican no vote.
Earlier in the day, nine Democratic senators including John Fetterman, Brian Schatz, and Kirsten Gillibrand, along with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer voted to advance the bill, allowing it to pass the 60-vote threshold needed to break the filibuster.
Schumer controversially reversed his opposition to the bill Thursday, sparking fury among the Democratic base. Opponents argue the bill lacks directives about how money can be spent, which could mean even fewer guardrails on the Trump administration’s cost-cutting push. Schumer argued that a “a shutdown will allow DOGE to shift into hyperdrive,” referring to Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency.
“The [continuing resolution] is a bad bill,” Schumer said on Friday before the vote. “But as bad as the CR is, I believe allowing Donald Trump to take even much more power via a government shutdown is a far worse option.”
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi came out in opposition to the bill, while Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez called Schumer’s decision a “tremendous mistake.” Some Democrats also opposed the funding bill’s $1 billion cut to Washington, DC’s budget.
Brendan Ruberry contributed to this report.