WASHINGTON – U.S. senators are expected to vote Friday on competing stopgap bills that both aim to temporarily fund the government past the Sept. 30 deadline, according to POLITICO.
This comes on the heels of Democrats releasing their own government funding extension plan on Wednesday in response to a Republican plan that was put forth earlier this week.
“The Democrats obviously want to vote on their [continuing resolution]…and we want to vote on the House CR,” Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) said Thursday. He added that Senate leaders are “talking to see if they can get there.”
Dig deeper:
Cornyn’s comments represent a shift in the perspective of Senate Republicans, who reportedly met again behind closed doors on Thursday to discuss a path forward. Senate Majority Leader John Thune told reporters just hours earlier that there wasn’t “much sentiment” inside the GOP about giving the Democrats a vote on their alternative proposal.
Sen. Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., center, speaks during a news conference after a policy luncheon at the Capitol, Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib)
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer floated the idea of voting together on competing funding bills on the Senate floor Thursday morning.
“Tomorrow Republicans can choose: either listen to Donald Trump and shut the government down or break this logjam by supporting our bill and keeping the government open,” he said.
It’s worth noting that both bills would need to meet the 60-vote threshold to be adopted, and with the current level of partisanship in Congress, that’s unlikely to happen in either case.
If the vote does not occur tomorrow, the next vote on the GOP’s stopgap bill would come on the evening of Sept. 29, just one day before the deadline.
The problem
Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said in a joint statement earlier this week that their respective chambers would not support the Republican bill unless the two parties could compromise on health care spending.
“The House Republican-only spending bill fails to meet the needs of the American people and does nothing to stop the looming health care crisis,” the statement reads. “At a time when families are already being squeezed by higher costs, Republicans refuse to stop Americans from facing double-digit hikes in their health insurance premiums.”
Schumer and Jeffries specifically suggested that Republicans could add an extension of the Obamacare subsidies that are set to expire at the end of 2025 to their bill. House Speaker Mike Johnson said Tuesday that there was “zero chance” he would consider adding this to the Republican bill, however.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., tells reporters that Republicans are jeopardizing health care for Americans with their policies and their strategy to fund the government before the deadline at the end of the month, at the Capitol in Wa
Many Democrats have also pushed to reverse cuts that were recently implemented to Medicaid funding as part of President Donald Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill.”
The alternative bill proposed by Democrats on Thursday would extend the Obamacare subsidies and reverse the cuts to Medicaid. It also includes $90 million and $66.5 million for the House and the Senate sergeant at arms’ security, respectively.
Both bills do include, however, $30 million for general lawmaker security.
The Democratic bill also includes language that would increase oversight of how the Trump administration distributes funding that Congress authorizes.
Big picture view:
Democrats appear to be taking a more aggressive stance against the Trump administration in rejecting the Republican bill and putting forth their own.
Some Democratic senators are even saying that a government shutdown may be the only way to send a “message” to President Trump.
“Donald Trump gave us the middle finger. There is no alternative,” one Democratic senator, who requested anonymity to discuss caucus strategy with The Hill, said.
“If Trump declares martial law, well, let him be transparent and show the world that’s what he thinks his ultimate goal is,” another lawmaker added.
Democrats are also facing increased pressure from their constituents and the more progressive wing of their party to stand up to the Trump administration.
Federal workers are pressuring lawmakers in this way, as well. On Thursday, hundreds of them from across 60 agencies and departments sent a letter to Congress urging them to rein in the White House, even though a shutdown would mean that many of them would go without pay.
“The continuing resolution (CR) you pass—or fail to pass—can determine whether Congress reasserts its constitutional powers, or allows further erosion of our democracy and harm to the public,” the letter reads.
As noted by Axios, this represents “the broadest protest yet to emerge from inside the civil service — a sign of widespread discontent, anger and worry over the Trump administration’s cuts to research, spending and the workforce.”
The Source: Information above was sourced from POLITICO, The Washington Post, USA Today, The Hill, NPR, Axios, the Maryland Democratic Party, The United States Committee on Finance, several statements from politicians and federal workers and previous FOX 5 DC reporting.
