Senate Democrats say the six-month government funding resolution that passed the House Tuesday is a “horrible” bill, but there’s growing sentiment within the Senate Democratic conference that it would be too risky to block the legislation and risk a government shutdown that could drag on for weeks.
Senate Democrats battled behind closed doors Tuesday over how to handle the House bill, with a number of Democrats — especially those in swing states — arguing that a government shutdown must be avoided, even if it means reluctantly voting for a House GOP-drafted bill.
Several centrists warned that there’s no clear end game for ending a government shutdown if Democrats defeat the House-passed measure, which would increase defense spending by $6 billion, boost funding for border security and cut non-defense programs by $13 billion.
The bill passed the House 217-213 Tuesday afternoon with only one Democrat voting in favor. But the political calculus is different for Democrats in the Senate because their votes will be needed to avoid a shutdown.
Senate Republicans control 53 seats and would need at least eight Democratic votes to reach the 60-vote threshold needed to overcome a filibuster. Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), a staunch fiscal conservative, says he would vote against the stopgap measure for not doing enough to cut the deficit.
Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) said he will vote to keep the government open, even if he’s not a fan of the House-passed funding stopgap.
“I’ve been very clear, I’m not going vote or withhold my vote that’s going to shut down the government,” Fetterman told The Hill.
