John Jefferson
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., placed blame on former President Trump and Republicans for a potential partial government shutdown after the House failed to pass a stopgap spending measure on Wednesday.
He filed cloture on Thursday in a procedural move in order to act as quickly as possible once the House passes a continuing resolution (CR), which is a short-term measure that would keep spending levels steady.
“By filing today, I am giving the Senate maximum flexibility for preventing a shutdown,” Schumer explained in remarks on the Senate floor. Because he filed the vehicle sooner, a vote on a forthcoming CR could also take place sooner.
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“Democrats and Americans don’t want a Trump shutdown,” he said, dubbing a potential partial shutdown with the moniker of Trump’s name. “I dare say most Republicans – at least in this chamber – don’t want to see a Trump shutdown. And the American people certainly don’t want their elected representatives in Washington creating a shutdown for the sake of Donald Trump’s claims, when it’s clear he doesn’t even know how the legislative process works.”
The New York Democrat made the decision to file the legislative vehicle after the Republican-backed CR brought to the floor by House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., failed, 202 to 220, with two members of his party voting “present.” Nine Republicans also voted against the six-month stopgap spending bill, which included a measure to require proof of citizenship in order to vote. Three Democrats voted in favor of it.
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Lawmakers must pass a CR before the beginning of October to avoid a partial government shutdown.
While Republicans in both the House and Senate have called for the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act to be included in a spending bill, Schumer and Democrats have made it clear that they aren’t willing to get on board with a package that includes what they consider a “poison pill.”
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Trump has sounded off on the spending fight, writing on Truth Social, “If Republicans don’t get the SAVE Act, and every ounce of it, they should not agree to a Continuing Resolution in any way, shape, or form.”
Schumer slammed the former president in his floor remarks, asking, “How does anyone expect Donald Trump to be a president when he has such little understanding of the legislative process? He’s daring the Congress to shut down.”
He further urged that “our Republican colleagues should not blindly follow Donald Trump.”
Senate Minority Whip John Thune, R-S.D., on Wednesday responded to Trump’s post, telling reporters, “the one thing I will tell you is I don’t think it’s to anybody’s political benefit, you know, this far out from an election to have a government shutdown.”
In Schumer’s statement following the House’s failed vote and several times during his floor speech, he labeled a potential partial government shutdown as a “Trump shutdown,” foreshadowing how Democrats plan to cast blame on the presidential candidate and Republicans if a shutdown does ultimately take place.
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Republicans have privately expressed concerns that any potential partial shutdown would reflect poorly on the GOP, more so than the Democrats.
Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., recently told reporters that he didn’t believe Republicans had much leverage in the CR discussion. He also claimed, “I don’t think Chuck Schumer cares one bit if the government gets shut down, so long as Republicans can be blamed for it.”
“And if the government gets shut down, Republicans will be blamed for it,” he predicted.
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