WASHINGTON — The House narrowly passed a stopgap funding bill on Friday — only for it to be rejected by the Senate hours later as the government careens toward a shutdown at the end of this month.
The spending measure, which would fund the government at current levels through Nov. 21, cleared the House 217-212, but failed to even receive a majority in the Senate, which voted it down, 48-44.
Just two Hill Democrats — Rep. Jared Golden of Maine and Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania — voted for the bill, known in DC parlance as a continuing resolution, or CR.
Both Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) had insisted before the votes that Democrats would not keep the government open without further provisions protecting ObamaCare subsidies.
Those Affordable Care Act tax credits are set to expire at the end of this year after having been expanded during the Biden administration, likely driving up the cost of out-of-pocket health care premiums.
Some Dems have also opposed the Trump administration’s push for Congress to pass another $5 billion in rescissions of previously approved foreign aid and peacekeeping spending.
Still another effort led by Rep. Laura Gillen (D-NY) to include funding for federal grants to local law enforcement was also rejected.
“I will continue to fight for this critical funding and urge Leadership to advance and emphasize the need to restore funding for our local law enforcement in any bipartisan government funding negotiations,” Gillen said.
“We are a hard ‘no’ on the partisan Republican spending bill because it continues to gut the healthcare of everyday Americans,” Jeffries declared to reporters ahead of the House vote.
“Democrats are fighting hard to cancel the cuts. Democrats are fighting hard to lower the cost. Democrats are fighting hard to save your healthcare.”
The House and Senate adjourned Friday and are scheduled to be out all next week, meaning that when they return Sept. 29, they will have just two full days to prevent a shutdown at 11:59 p.m. Sept. 30.
“The theater must end,” Schumer chastised Republicans after the Senate vote. “Let’s sit down and negotiate.”
House Republican leaders have already announced that there will be no more votes until Oct. 1, with the Senate GOP planning a second vote on the House package closer to the shutdown deadline in the hope that Democrats will reconsider.
“All it takes is a handful of Democrats to join the Republicans in keeping the government open and funded, and to ensure we have a chance to get the appropriations process completed in the way it was intended,” said Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD).
“Democrats voted in favor of clean CRs no fewer than 13 times during the Biden administration,” Thune added. “Yet now that Republicans are offering a clean CR, it’s somehow a no-go. It’s funny how that happens.”
Two Senate Republicans — Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Rand Paul of Kentucky — voted against the CR, joining Reps. Thomas Massie of Kentucky and Victoria Spartz of Indiana in opposition on the House side.
“I am willing to vote for a CR of any duration—short or long—the least damage to the Republic, but I cannot support one that ends funding right before a major holiday to jam us with an Omnibus. I’ve seen this playbook too many times,” Spartz wrote on X Sunday.
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Friday’s legislation earmarked $58 million in extra funding for the security of federal officials and judges, with $30 million set aside for the executive branch and $28 million for Supreme Court justices.
Another $30 million will be placed in a fund to reimburse local law enforcement with help protecting members of Congress.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) indicated earlier this week that a standalone bill with even more taxpayer-funded security measures could be brought up for a vote in October.
Also Friday, Senate Democrats struck a deal with Republicans to put their own funding measure on the floor, but that bill also failed to clear the 60-vote legislative filibuster, 47-45.
President Trump has urged Republicans to keep the federal lights on, posting on Truth Social Monday: “Congressional Republicans, including [Senate Majority] Leader John Thune and Speaker Mike Johnson, are working on a short term ‘CLEAN’ extension of Government Funding to stop Cryin’ Chuck Schumer from shutting down the Government.
“In times like these, Republicans have to stick TOGETHER to fight back against the Radical Left Democrat demands, and vote ‘YES!’ on both Votes needed to pass a Clean CR this week.”
The White House also urged the GOP to support the bill in a separate policy statement Wednesday.
“President Trump opposes a Government shutdown,” that statement read, “and every Member of Congress must support passage of this clean, short-term CR to keep the Government open as discussions on full-year appropriations continue.”
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