Summary
Senate Democrats are resisting a Republican-backed funding bill that excludes limits on Trump and Elon Musk’s federal workforce cuts, fearing further agency dismantling.
With a government shutdown looming, Democrats propose a 30-day stopgap measure, though it’s unlikely to pass in the GOP-controlled Congress.
Republicans, holding a 53-47 Senate majority but lacking the support needed to reach the 60-vote threshold, predict Democrats will cave to avoid blame for a shutdown. Progressives urge defiance, while Treasury Secretary Scott Brown warns Democrats will “own” the shutdown.
A Friday vote will determine the outcome.
Democrats will cave. This is 100% guaranteed. Democrats are worried about being blamed for a shutdown that they’re going to get blamed for anyway. They’re worried about being perceived as uncooperative with a party that has openly said that they have no desire to work with Democrats – unless, of course, they need Democrats to bail them out of one of their own messes. Then Democrats are expected to save the GOP from themselves even though all it leads to is Democrats getting blamed for GOP blunders anyway and the GOP going right back to shitting on them.
The only thing Schumer is even fighting for is the right “to offer amendments”. Amendments which would be completely ignored and voted down.
Our leadership has no spine. Yes, thousands of government workers would be impacted by a shutdown. Services would be interrupted. This is not a question. But at least with a shutdown, those services will be back and those workers will still have jobs when the government reopens. Vote in favor of this CR and Trump is just going to fire those workers and shutter those agencies anyway. Except this time, they won’t have a job to come back to.
Our Democrat leaders need to refuse to even cooperate on even the most mundane, basic procedural votes until DOGE is shuttered and their actions reversed. Filibuster everything. If the GOP are insistent on going down this path, let them do it completely on their own. Democrat senators should absolutely be held responsible for anything that happens if they voted in favor of even procedural votes that made their actions possible.
EDIT: And they caved, for the exact reason expected: Fear of being blamed for a shutdown. Didn’t even offer the slightest resistance.
Someone mentioned that one of the reasons they are doing this is because federal worker unions said it was preferable to them enabling Musk.
I hope it’s more than just a token effort. Hard to say if they can. Either way it’s a turning point.
I want them too, I just cannot imagine real protest happening. It’s much easier to herd cats
Oh, unions are for the shutdown?
democrats are gonna cave even faster.