Senate takes first bipartisan step on government funding ahead of September shutdown cliff
The 90-8 vote was a major bipartisan overture in cross-party government funding talks strained by the GOP's partisan moves to cut and boost federal cash without Democratic buy-in, while President Donald Trump withholds billions of dollars more that Congress approved in bipartisan votes.
Sen. Mike Lee of Utah was the only Republican to vote 'no,' joined by other Democratic Sens. Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff of California, Ed Markey and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Chris Murphy of Connecticut and Peter Welch of Vermont. Welch's fellow Vermonter, Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders, also opposed moving ahead with consideration of the package.
But the bipartisanship is not guaranteed to last. Though Democrats helped overcome Tuesday's hurdle, they aren't committed yet to helping pass the bill, which will at the very least contain funding for the Department and Veterans Affairs and military construction projects. And as lawmakers stare down the Sept. 30 government shutdown cliff in just 10 weeks, fiscal conservatives and the White House are again calling for Republicans to abandon funding negotiations with Democrats.
Ahead of the procedural vote Tuesday, Minority Leader Chuck Schumer praised the Senate's veterans funding bill as containing 'some important steps to reverse a number of the awful cuts' posed by the Department of Government Efficiency and White House budget director Russ Vought.
But Schumer also warned Republicans not to bank on automatically having Democratic votes to pass the bill, adding: 'We will see how the floor process evolves here on the floor. Given Republicans' recent actions undermining bipartisan appropriations, nothing is guaranteed.'
The contents of the package are also still in flux. The measure will certainly contain funding for the VA and military construction projects, but Republicans also plan to add largely non-controversial funding for federal agriculture programs, the FDA and operations of Congress.
'I'd like to make it a package of bills, and get as many bills going as we can,' Majority Leader John Thune said in a brief interview, adding that there was a 'discussion' about what to do with more controversial funding for the Justice Department and FBI.
Thune could get heat from his own members. Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) said in an interview he objected to leadership's desire to attach the agriculture and legislative branch spending bills to the pending package, saying he wanted to vote on each measure 'separately' and that the bill funding congressional operations would cost 'too much money.'
On the other side of the aisle, Schumer is trying to hone the Democratic government funding strategy after caving to Republicans' strong-arm tactics in March. Democrats haven't settled on what their demands should be heading into September — and there are competing factions split over how hard the party should fight against even bipartisan funding bills in the wake of Republicans green-lighting Trump's $9 billion funding clawbacks package.
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