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Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer, DN.Y., announced Thursday that he would vote to advance the Republican six-month fundraising bill that passed the House on Friday night to avoid government shutdowns.
The move represents a major concession from Schumer, succumbing to the GOP measurement a day after Democrats vowed not to allow it to pass. That means the bill is likely to find enough votes to clear the 60 vote threshold, and will likely end up passing with a simple majority.
“There are no winners in the government closure,” Schumer said in a speech on the floor. “That’s not really a decision. It’s Hobson’s choice. Either move the bill ahead of us or risk Donald Trump throws America into the mess of shutdown.”
“Indeed, the Republican bill is a terrible option. It’s not a clean CR. It’s deeply partisan. It doesn’t address so many of the needs of the country. But I believe that Donald Trump is a much worse option to take away more power through government shutdowns,” he added. “I’ll vote to keep the government open and not close it.”
The remarks came after Schumer informed his colleagues at a closed door meeting that he would vote on a procedural allegation to advance the funding bill on the Senate floor on Friday, according to sources familiar with his remarks. Schumer’s private comments were first reported by the New York Times.
If the Senate passes, if the bill passes, it goes to President Donald Trump’s desk for signing. If no law has been enacted by then, a shutdown will occur after 11:59pm ET on Friday.
“We’re choosing between bad and bad,” said Sen. Rafael Warnock of the D-GA.
It is unknown if Schumer receives something in return for his decision to allow the House bill to proceed. Speaking to reporters after the Senator’s speech, Schumer said Democrats “trying to get an amendment to the bill.”
Before his comment, D-Va. Sen. Tim Kane of the group suggested that Democrats could secure votes on amending the House bill and change it to 30 days rather than a six-month suspension. However, if the amendment fell, he did not promise to oppose the bill.
Senator John Fetterman, D-PA. is the only Senate Democrat who said he would vote to advance the House bill, but some others were quiet about how to handle the procedural vote. “They are making their own decisions right now,” Schumer told reporters.
Earlier in the day, Democrats vowed to oppose the law as the numbers are rising. It included Sen. John Hickenlooper, D-Colo, who called the bill “dangerous.” was included. “Give Donald Trump and Elon Musk unchecked powers.” Senator Mark Kelly. Senator Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz. He blows it up as a “glove bag of extreme policy.” Senator Mark Warner, D-Va.
20 states and the District of Columbia announced lawsuits against the Trump administration over mass shootings at the Department of Education on Thursday.
“One thing is certain: if you pass this continuous solution over the next six months, you will own what the president is doing,” said D-Calif Sen. Adam Schiff. “I have no intention of taking ownership of that.”
We could hear Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand screaming about the devastating impact of government shutdowns, especially at this point.
Senators have been from House Democrat colleagues and liberal advocates outside the Capitol, Mike Johnson, R-La. and faces great pressure to maintain boundaries against the White House-written funding bill.
Earlier this week, Maine Rep. Jared Golden, one House Democrat, voted for the bill.
After Schumer’s comments from the Senate floor, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (DN.Y.) told reporters there was a “deep sense of anger and betrayal” from House Democrats.
“We have members of Congress who have acquired Trump-owned districts in some of the most difficult territory in the United States. We walked the board and took countless risks to protect the American people. It’s currently planned,” Ocasio-Cortez said.
But even if some Democrats were against the House GOP bill, they struggled to provide a plausible endgame to avoid the closure. They requested a 30-day suspension to continue funding at the current Quo level in order to obtain a full financing agreement for fiscal year 2025.
That inconsistent approach clashes with the fact that Trump and Johnson already say they don’t want a half-year budget contract as they want to move on to the Party and Line budget bill to address taxes, immigration and other priorities.
“We’re trying to persuade them. Sen. John Hickenlooper of D-Colo said that the GOP denies a new spending contract.
Democrat senators have raised many objections to the House bill.
First, they had no opinion on developing it. Some people in the party fear that by voting for this, they will allow Johnson and Trump to decide the outcome without negotiating with Democrats to win their vote.
Second, they oppose provisions that will cut non-defensive domestic spending billions while boosting military spending, while still taking a hit on the District of Columbia budget.
Third, they are worried that if they vote for the measure without a guardrail on enforcement, a green glow will occur when Trump and billionaire advisers will either dismantle parts of the federal government or refuse to spend the money in Congress’s direction.
A new memo on Thursday from the Center for the American Progressive Action, led by longtime Democratic adviser Neela Tanden, called on the party to counter the House Republican bill, making policy and messaging advocates.
“While the outcome of the shutdown is realistic, Democrats are not responsible for real or public awareness if they continue to support clean CRs or support clean CRs for 30 days. But supporting the MAGA plan would set the momentum built against the Republicans,” the memo said. The memo came from a Democratic source in Congress where NBC News received it. “Members must focus on managing what is called CR and how Doge is actively causing radical harm.”
Some Democrats believe voters will blame Republicans if the government is shut down. In the new Kinipiac referendum, 53% of registered voters said they would blame Congressional Trump or Republicans if the government was shut down. 32% said they would denounce the Democrats. Another 15% didn’t know.
“Jiminie Christmas! Republicans control the House, Senate and the White House,” said Senator Ben Ray Luhan, DN.M. I said.
But Senate Republican leaders say it’s time to distribute debates over 2025 fundraising, with Senate majority leader John Tune (Rs.D.) on Thursday saying the House bill was the only way to prevent the closure.
“Democrats need to decide whether to support fundraising laws coming from the House or whether to shut down the government,” he said.
This story first appeared on nbcnews.com. More from NBC News:
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