Senate will move stopgap funding bill as government shutdown looms

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) announced Thursday that he will act later in the day to advance a bipartisan government funding bill after Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) failed to pass a partisan six-month funding measure that was tied to voter registration reform.

Schumer said the Senate now may have to act first to avoid a government shutdown, even though government funding bills are supposed to originate in the House.

“Later today, I’ll file cloture on a legislative vehicle that will enable us to prevent a Trump shutdown in the event that the Speaker does not work with us in a bipartisan, bicameral manner. Both sides are going to spend the next few days trying to figure out the best path remaining for keeping the government open,” Schumer announced on the Senate floor.

With funding for many federal departments and agencies due to expire on Sept. 30, Johnson and other House GOP leaders have yet to unveil a plan B bill that could muster enough votes to pass the lower chamber.

The six-month funding stopgap tied to legislation that would require proof of citizenship for voter registration failed Wednesday by a vote of 202 to 220, with 14 Republicans voting against it.

Democrats say the proposal to require documentary proof of citizenship for voter registration is a “poison pill” that can’t pass Congress, and many lawmakers in both parties say they don’t want to punt the annual spending bills for fiscal 2025 until March.

Former President Trump urged Republican lawmakers before Wednesday’s vote to let the government shut down if Democrats don’t agree to stricter voter registration rules.

“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,” he wrote on Truth Social, referencing the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act.

Schumer, Johnson, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) and House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries (N.Y.) still have time to negotiate a three-month funding resolution over the next few days, but time is running short.

GOP senators say they would prefer for Johnson to bring a clean three-month continuing resolution to the floor in the next few days so the House can preserve its traditional role of acting first on funding bills. But they are prepared to work with Senate Democrats to pass a bill first if Johnson can’t muster enough votes to get a funding stopgap passed through the House.

“By filing today, I’m giving the Senate maximum flexibility for preventing a shutdown. Democrats and Americans don’t want a Trump shutdown. I dare say most Republicans, at least in this chamber, don’t want to see a Trump shutdown,” Schumer said.

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