Watch Live: Senate advances GOP measure to avert shutdown as Democrats fume over choice
In a 62 to 38 vote, 10 Democrats joined with all but one Republican to move forward on the measure in a key step toward passage. The Friday afternoon vote ended debate, and after reaching a time agreement, the vote on final passage is expected later in the evening.
The vote came after Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer initially signaled that his caucus would fight back against the partisan measure to keep the government funded through September. But instead he reluctantly pledged on Thursday to advance it, delivering one of the Democratic votes necessary to propel it to passage. He warned of the larger threat a shutdown would pose for the American people.
"For sure, the Republican bill is a terrible option," the New York Democrat said, calling the bill "deeply partisan" and urging that "it doesn't address far too many of this country's needs." "But I believe allowing Donald Trump to take even much more power via a government shutdown is a far worse option."
After his remarks Thursday night, Schumer wouldn't say whether other Democrats would join him in voting to advance the measure, telling reporters that "each is making his or her own decision." But Schumer's support for the continuing resolution gave other Democrats political cover to do the same, diminishing the threat of a shutdown.
Ultimately, Schumer was joined by Democratic Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada, Dick Durbin of Illinois, John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire, Gary Peters of Michigan, Brian Schatz of Hawaii, Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, and Angus King, a Maine independent who caucuses with Democrats. Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky was the sole Republican to oppose advancing the measure.
On Tuesday, the House passed the measure, which increases defense spending while decreasing non-defense spending below 2024 levels. Republicans have praised additional funding in the measure for programs like nutrition assistance for women, infants and children, while Democrats have railed against cuts to medical research and housing programs — and more than $1 billion in cuts to D.C.'s local government spending.
Just one House Democrat joined the Republican majority in support of the measure. And while the House requires only a simple majority, a 60-vote threshold is required to invoke cloture and advance the measure in the Senate, meaning needed the support of Democrats to get to a vote on final passage.
Still, the party had been split on how to proceed. Democrats widely oppose the House-passed measure and have expressed frustration with the spending reductions, and they warn that it would give the Trump administration and Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency even more latitude to carry out cost-slashing efforts.
Democrats had been pushing for a 30-day continuing resolution that had little chance of earning enough support for passage. And with the House having already left town, the option would almost certainly have resulted in a funding lapse. But some progressives have suggested that the shorter option was more favorable, letting the onus for a government shutdown fall on Republicans, arguing that it would have further illuminated the chaos that has ensued in the federal bureaucracy and beyond under the Trump administration and DOGE.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez told reporters Thursday night that Schumer's move to back the continuing resolution — known as a CR — was a "huge slap in the face," adding that there is a "wide sense of betrayal" among the party.
"What voting for the CR does is that it codifies the chaos and the reckless cuts that Elon Musk has been pursuing," Ocasio-Cortez said. "The robbing of our federal government in order to finance tax cuts for billionaires, is what is happening, and that is what Senate Democrats will be empowering if they vote for the CR."
Schumer told reporters following his floor remarks that Democrats should keep the attention on their message — that Republicans are hurting the middle class — rather than on what the Trump administration could pursue during a shutdown. Schumer said the message is "beginning to work."
President Trump congratulated Schumer Friday morning for "doing the right thing," saying in a post on Truth Social that it took "courage."
The minority leader first informed Senate Democrats that he planned to vote to advance the GOP funding measure during a closed-door meeting Thursday afternoon, a source familiar told CBS News. As the meeting let out, frustrations appeared high among Senate Democrats, and a number of them — including many who hail from battleground states — quickly released statements on social media announcing they would vote "no" on the House-passed continuing resolution.
Besides Schumer, only Sen. John Fetterman, a Pennsylvania Democrat, had pledged to support the continuing resolution heading into the day on Friday. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada became the third Democrat to pledge to support the measure to avert a shutdown ahead of the vote.
"I'm hopeful that enough Democrats will reject their party's threat of shutting down the government to get this bill passed today," Senate Majority Leader John Thune said Friday morning.
Democrats continued to rail against their options on Friday morning. Sen. Patty Murray, the top Democratic appropriator who had been engaged in bipartisan talks to fund the government, said the choice between a shutdown and letting the GOP bill pass "has always been a false choice." She accused Republicans of pulling out of bipartisan negotiations and sending "a deeply partisan bill here to the Senate today."
"Democrats did not have an ounce of input into writing this bill," Murray said. "In my time in Congress, never, ever has one party written partisan full-year appropriations bills for all of government and expected the other party to go along without any input."
Murray said the Senate could still pass the short-term funding measure that she introduced earlier this week, saying House Republicans could get on a plane to come back and vote.
Meanwhile, House Democratic leaders returned to the Capitol Friday to express their opposition to the continuing resolution, calling this an "unprecedented situation and an unprecedented disaster" for the American people.
"We've been very clear: we strongly oppose the reckless Republican spending bill," House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New York Times
a few seconds ago
- New York Times
Trump Said He Would Not Send Troops to Ukraine
President Trump said today that no American ground troops would be deployed to Ukraine as part of the security guarantees that the U.S. and its NATO allies have promised to offer Kyiv. That leaves open the possibility that European countries could agree, as part of a peace deal with Russia, to deploy troops to Ukraine with the potential backing of U.S. air support. The leaders of Britain, France and Germany met today to discuss their role in a postwar Ukraine. Ukrainian officials argue that only a binding agreement that would oblige allies to defend the country could deter Russia from invading Ukraine again. But Russia has flatly rejected the idea of an international force deploying to Ukraine, which suggests that the path to a peace deal remains elusive, even after yesterday's extraordinary White House meeting. Trump has described a potential meeting between the leaders of Russia and Ukraine as an achievement of the talks, and the White House spokeswoman said that Vladimir Putin had already agreed to it. The Kremlin has played down the idea. For more: Trump described his motivation for brokering an end to the war in Ukraine: 'I want to try and get to heaven, if possible,' he said. Analysis: Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelensky, and his European allies have learned how to sway Trump — present a unified front, tug on his heartstrings, and lean heavily into flattery. Hundreds more troops are headed to Washington Tennessee is planing to send about 160 National Guard troops to Washington, D.C., making it the sixth Republican-led state to announce it will send troops to support Trump's crackdown in the nation's capital. So far, Army officials have placed troops largely around tourist spots, not high-crime areas. In Southeast Washington, many residents said they did not reject safety measures outright, but felt suspicious of the president's motives. The president's critics have used Washington's declining violent crime rate as evidence that he is overreaching. Now, the U.S. attorney's office in Washington has opened an investigation into whether city police officials falsified crime data. In other Trump administration news: Trump revoked the security clearances of 37 current and former national security officials, many of whom worked on Russia analysis or foreign threats to U.S. elections. The official tapped to investigate the New York attorney general, Letitia James, has sidestepped Justice Department norms. Meet the key players involved in Trump's overhaul of Washington's cultural institutions. OpenAI could become the most valuable private company OpenAI, the maker of ChatGPT, is in talks to sell $6 billion in shares owned by its current and former employees to investors. The deal would value the San Francisco-based A.I. lab at roughly $500 billion, which, according to data from the start-up tracker CB Insights, would make it the world's most valuable privately held company. Less than a year ago, OpenAI raised money at a $157 billion valuation. For more: When ChatGPT was updated this month, it became less overly agreeable, and some users felt they lost a friend. OpenAI agreed to backtrack. Related: Meta internally announced a new restructuring of its A.I. division amid internal tensions. Rainforests in Indonesia are being cleared to build your R.V. Recreational vehicles — the rolling homes that have grown increasingly popular in the U.S. — rely on a tropical hardwood called lauan. The U.S. has imported more than $900 million of it since 2020, most of it processed into plywood for R.V.s. Manufacturers say that the wood is irreplaceable for features like cabinets and interior walls. Conservation groups say the industry's demand for lauan has accelerated deforestation in Borneo, where tens of thousands of acres of rainforest have been chopped down for the wood in the past five years, often without the government's permission. More top news Politics: California Republicans filed a lawsuit asking the State Supreme Court to block Democrats' redistricting plans. Weather: Hurricane Erin isn't expected to make landfall in the U.S., but Hatteras Island in North Carolina has been evacuated and 70 people were rescued from rip currents off one beach. Travel: Air Canada reached a tentative deal with the union that represents 10,000 striking flight attendants. Middle East: Israeli hard-liners ruled out a proposed hostage deal that Hamas has agreed to, but the prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has yet to state his position. Arkansas: In the Ozark Mountains, homesteaders are building an all-white community, which they think will survive any legal challenges in the current political environment. Media: For the first time, Shari Redstone spoke at length about why she sold Paramount: her father's death, and the Oct. 7 attacks. Science: A small, preliminary study found a possible link between extreme exercise and colon cancer. After the fire, they created a new Wonderland onstage Aveson School of Leaders was once the most beautiful elementary school campus in Los Angeles County. The Eaton fire turned it into a charred ruin. Many students left for other schools or other states. But school officials decided that the tragedy wouldn't stop them from putting on their spring musical, 'Alice in Wonderland.' We spent five months with a group of roughly 40 students as they prepared for a big performance against a backdrop of staggering loss. For some, the rehearsals became a lifeline — a reminder of the way things used to be. Do food expiration dates really matter? Inside your refrigerator, just about every packaged item probable comes with some sort of expiration date. This would make sense if those dates named the moment after which you should no longer consume the food. But that's often not the case. The reality is that food expiration dates are a jumbled mess, with many different state laws, industry norms and company preferences playing a role. Here's how to navigate them. Dinner table topics City lovers: Two coyotes named Romeo and Juliet have quietly made New York's Central Park their home. 'America's Team': A new Netflix docuseries shows why the Dallas Cowboys seem to always win the battle for attention. Thick bands: Chunky engagement rings — a Victorian-era favorite — are back in style. Household disagreements: Leave dirty dishes in the sink? A comedian will see you in 'Roommate Court.' Cook: Chamoy is a vibrant and tangy Mexican condiment that's good on everything. Read: A tender new biography emphasizes James Baldwin's romantic side. Plan: A.I. travel tools are good at some things and lacking at others. Here's what to know. Wear: Take inspiration from our fashion photographer's look of the week. Consider: Kiwis may be the perfect healthy snack. Preserve: Wirecutter has six tips for making your phone last longer. Test yourself: Take our quiz to see if you can match vacation novels to their settings. Play: Here are today's Spelling Bee, Wordle and Mini Crossword. Find all our games here. A Swedish church took a road trip For more than a century, a red wooden church sat atop a hill in Kiruna, Sweden's northernmost city, becoming one of the country's most beloved cultural institutions. Then, today, it left, setting off on a two-day, three-mile road trip. The church has been forced to relocate, after the local mining company said the ground beneath it was unstable. So the 660-ton building was hoisted onto an enormous rolling structure with a system of beams and jacks, and roads along its path were widened to accommodate it. Check out video of the church's slow journey. Have an astonishing evening. Thanks for reading. I'll be back on Monday. — Matthew Philip Pacheco was our photo editor. We welcome your feedback. Write to us at evening@
CNN
a few seconds ago
- CNN
Federal appeals court sides with Texas students fighting campus drag show ban
Education policy Student lifeFacebookTweetLink Follow Officials at a Texas university cannot block a student-led LGBTQ+ organization from hosting drag shows on campus, a federal appeals court ruled Monday. The 2-1 ruling from the New Orleans-based 5th US Circuit Court of Appeals is a major victory for the group, Spectrum WT, which has been in a long-running legal battle with West Texas A&M University officials after the school's president banned the organization from putting on drag shows on campus. The 5th Circuit's ruling will allow Spectrum WT to proceed with hosting drag performances while its legal challenge plays out. The Canyon, Texas, school gained national attention in March 2023 after its president, Walter Wendler, declined Spectrum WT's request to host a drag event that month at a venue on campus. Wendler said in a campus-wide email that such performances do not 'preserve a single thread of human dignity,' compared them to blackface and argued that they 'stereotype women in cartoon-like extremes for the amusement of others.' That categorical ban, the 5th Circuit said, likely violated the First Amendment rights of the student group. 'Because theatrical performances plainly involve expressive conduct within the protection of the First Amendment, and because we find the plaintiffs' drag show is protected expression, discrimination among such shows must pass strict scrutiny,' appeals court Judge Leslie Southwick wrote in the majority opinion. 'Based on the record before us, the district court erred in concluding that the plaintiffs were not substantially likely to succeed on the merits of their First Amendment claim.' Southwick, an appointee of former President George W. Bush, was joined by Judge James Dennis, who was appointed to the bench by former President Bill Clinton. Conservatives have said the performances – which often feature men dressing as women in exaggerated makeup while singing or entertaining a crowd, though some shows feature bawdier content – expose children to sexual themes and imagery that are inappropriate. When US District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk ruled against Spectrum WT in September 2023, he focused in part on the possibility that children could see the performance. 'When children are involved,' Kacsmaryk, a noted conservative whose courthouse is in Amarillo, Texas, wrote at the time, 'the calculation changes.' The case simmered as Republican state lawmakers around the country pushed anti-drag laws and other measures targeting members of the LGBTQ+ community. It rose to new heights in March 2024 when Spectrum WT sought the Supreme Court's intervention. But the high court – without providing an explanation – declined to step in to allow the group to host a show on campus that month. Judges James Ho, an appointee of President Donald Trump, dissented from the 5th Circuit's decision Monday in a lengthy opinion that was rife with culture war commentary. 'If university officials allow men to act as women in campus events like drag shows, they may feel compelled to allow men to act as women in other campus events as well — like women's sports,' Ho wrote. Echoing the blackface arguments pushed by Wendler, the judge wrote that the 'drag shows violate the university's fundamental mission to ensure a welcoming educational environment for all.' Attorneys for Spectrum WT, meanwhile, said the court's ruling 'is a victory not just for Spectrum WT, but for any public university students at risk of being silenced by campus censors.' CNN has reached out to attorneys for Wendler and the other school officials involved in the lawsuit for comment.
CNN
a few seconds ago
- CNN
Nebraska's governor announces plan for an immigration detention center in a farming area in the state's southwest corner
Immigration Donald TrumpFacebookTweetLink Follow Nebraska Republican Gov. Jim Pillen announced plans Tuesday for an immigration detention center in a farming area in the state's southwest corner as President Donald Trump's administration races to expand the infrastructure necessary for increasing deportations. Pillen said he and Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem had agreed to use an existing minimum security prison work camp in rural McCook to house people awaiting deportation and being held for other immigration proceedings. 'This is about keeping Nebraskans – and Americans across our country – safe,' Pillen said in a statement. Pillen also announced he would order the Nebraska National Guard to provide administrative and logical support to Nebraska-based immigration agents. About 20 Guard soldiers will be involved. He also said the Nebraska State Patrol would sign an agreement that enables troopers to help federal immigration agents make arrests. The Trump administration is adding new detention facilities across the country to hold the growing number of immigrants it has arrested and accused of being in the country illegally. Older and newer US Immigration and Customs Enforcement centers were holding more than 56,000 immigrants in June, the most since 2019. The new and planned facilities include the remote detention center in the Florida Everglades known as 'Alligator Alcatraz,' which opened last month. It's designed to hold up to 3,000 detainees in temporary tent structures. When Trump toured it, he suggested it could be a model for future lockups nationwide. The Florida facility also been the subject of legal challenges by attorneys who allege violations of due process there, including the rights of detainees to meet with their attorneys, limited access to immigration courts and poor living conditions. Critics have been trying to stop further construction and operations until it comes into compliance with federal environmental laws. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced last week that his administration is preparing to open a second facility, dubbed 'Deportation Depot,' at a state prison in north Florida. It's expected to have 1,300 immigration beds, though that capacity could be expanded to 2,000, state officials said. Also last week, officials in the rural Tennessee town of Mason voted to approve agreements to turn a former prison into an immigration detention facility operated by a private company, despite loud objections from residents and activists during a contentious public meeting. And the Trump administration announced plans earlier this month for a 1,000-bed detention center in Indiana that would be dubbed 'Speedway Slammer,' prompting a backlash in the Midwestern state that hosts the Indianapolis 500 auto race. The Nebraska plan has already raised concerns. In a video posted to social media, state Sen. Megan Hunt, an independent, blasted a lack of transparency about plans for the detention center, citing her unfulfilled request to the governor and executive branch for emails and other records about plans to build the facility. She urged people to support local immigrant rights groups, and said any response by the Legislature would not come until next year – and only with enough support from lawmakers. 'The No. 1 thing we need to do is protect our neighbors, protect the people in our communities who are being targeted by these horrible people, these horrible organizations that are making choices to lock up, detain, disappear our neighbors and families and friends,' Hunt said.
