To avert a government shutdown, Senate Democratic leader says he’ll vote with the GOP

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said on Thursday evening that he would vote to keep the government open, but he’s not happy about it. 

“While the [continuing resolution] bill is very bad, the potential for a shutdown has consequences for America that are much, much worse,” he said in a floor speech. 

Schumer’s comments are a change in tune from Wednesday when he said that Democrats would not provide the votes needed to approve the House-passed stopgap funding measure. He argued that the Senate should instead vote on a “clean” bill that would maintain spending levels for 30 days to enable bipartisan negotiations. 

House Republicans on Tuesday passed in a mostly party-line vote legislation that would largely maintain current funding amounts for the rest of the fiscal year. If the Senate doesn’t pass the House bill or otherwise reach an agreement, a shutdown would begin after Friday.

It’s uncertain if enough Senate Democrats will vote with Schumer to get the CR over a 60-vote procedural hurdle before it can be passed with a simple majority. 

Some Democrats have said they want to use the shutdown fight to push back against cuts across government spearheaded by Elon Musk and the Department of Government Efficiency. In contrast, Schumer argued in his speech that a shutdown would more easily enable Trump and Musk to eliminate federal programs and furlough employees without guarantees they’d be brought back. 

The federal government has been operating under a CR since the last fiscal year ended on Sept. 30.