On Friday evening, the U.S. Senate passed a crucial stopgap spending bill, effectively averting a partial government shutdown and overcoming staunch opposition from Democrats. The bill, which had previously passed in the House of Representatives, received a 54-46 vote in the Senate after successfully clearing a procedural hurdle that required at least 60 votes.
The Republican-controlled House had passed the bill earlier in the week in order to meet a March 14 deadline and keep the government running. However, Senate Democrats were divided on whether to support the short-term continuing resolution (CR) that would fund the government for the next six months, reduce government spending by $7 billion from last year’s levels, and reallocate funds from non-defense to military spending.
Despite some initial hesitation, the top-ranking Democrat in the Senate, Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, ultimately announced his support for the bill on Thursday night. In a statement, he explained that while he may not agree with all aspects of the bill, the prospect of a government shutdown was a “far worse option.” Speaking on the Senate floor on Friday morning, Schumer highlighted the potential consequences of not passing the Republican funding bill, including giving more power to the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) led by Elon Musk to decide which agencies would be shut down. He emphasized that a shutdown would only allow DOGE to “shift into overdrive,” causing further disruptions and chaos.
However, not all Democrats were on board with Schumer’s decision. Dozens of House Democrats who had voted against the funding measure in the lower chamber sent a letter to Schumer on Friday expressing their “strong opposition” to his plan to support the bill. Even former Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi urged Senate Democrats to go against their leader, stating in a press release, “America has experienced a Trump shutdown before – but this damaging legislation only makes matters worse.”
When questioned by reporters on Friday, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries refused to comment on whether he supported Schumer’s leadership. Meanwhile, President Trump had called for Congress to pass the funding bill and praised Schumer for his decision to support it. On his social media platform, Truth Social, Trump wrote, “Congratulations to Chuck Schumer for doing the right thing – took ‘guts’ and courage!” He also praised Schumer during a speech at the Department of Justice, stating, “I have great respect, by the way, for what Schumer did today. He went out and he said that they have to vote with the Republicans because it’s the right thing to do.”
In order to pass the Senate, the bill required a 60-vote threshold, meaning that Republicans needed to secure at least eight Democratic votes. The bill successfully cleared the procedural hurdle with a vote of 62-38. While several amendments to the bill were proposed, the only one that gained support from a Republican was the amendment to eliminate funding for DOGE. Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, who has been openly critical of Musk’s initiative, was the only Republican to vote in favor of this amendment.
Schumer had previously called for the Senate to pass an earlier version of the CR that included input from Democrats. In a speech on the Senate floor on Wednesday, he stated, “Funding the government should be a bipartisan effort. But Republicans chose a partisan path, drafting their continuing resolution without any input from congressional Democrats.” However, when the House passed the short-term spending measure with a vote of 217-213 on Tuesday, the chamber went out of session for the rest of the week, putting pressure on senators to pass their version of the CR.
Despite some dissent from within his own party, House Speaker Mike Johnson was able to secure enough votes to pass the spending measure. In a press conference on Tuesday, he emphasized the importance of the seven-month continuing resolution in implementing Trump’s agenda of reducing government waste and abuse through DOGE. He stated, “It allows us to move forward with changing the size and scope of the federal government. There is a seismic shift going on in Washington right now. This is a different moment than we have ever been in. The DOGE work is finding massive amounts of fraud, waste, and abuse. We have a White House that is dedicated to getting us back on a fiscally responsible track.”
However, independent watchdogs and analysts have raised concerns about DOGE’s use of overly broad claims of fraud to justify large-scale cuts to federal programs and offices. Representative Thomas Massie was the only Republican to vote against
