Government shutdown talk is starting early ahead of a difficult funding
fight in Congress this fall
[July 30, 2025]
By KEVIN FREKING
WASHINGTON (AP) — It's become tradition. Congressional leaders from both
major political parties blame each other for a potential government
shutdown as the budget year draws to a close.
But this year, the posturing is starting extraordinarily early.
The finger-pointing with more than two months to go in the fiscal year
indicates the threat of a stoppage is more serious than usual as a
Republican-controlled Congress seeks to make good on its policy
priorities, often with no support from the other political party.
Democratic leadership from both chambers and the two panels responsible
for drafting spending bills met behind closed doors recently to discuss
the strategy ahead. The leaders emerged demanding that Republicans work
with them but were careful to avoid spelling out red lines if
Republicans don't.
“We are for a bipartisan, bicameral bill. That's what always has been
done,” said Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer. “The onus is on the
Republicans to help us make that happen.”
On the Republican side, lawmakers describe the Democrats as itching for
a shutdown. Senate Majority Leader John Thune said Schumer had
threatened a shutdown should Republicans pass a bill to roll back $9
billion in public broadcasting and foreign aid funds. Republicans
subsequently passed those cuts.
“It was disturbing to see the Democratic leader implicitly threatening
to shut down the government in his July ‘Dear Colleague’ letter, but I'm
hopeful that he does not represent the views of Senate Democrats as a
whole," Thune said.
Where things stand on government funding
The federal government is operating on a full-year continuing resolution
that provided about $1.7 trillion in spending for defense and
non-defense programs. The funding expires Sept. 30.
President Donald Trump requested a comparable amount for the coming
fiscal year, but the Republican proposed dramatically overhauling how
that money is distributed to include more for defense and border
security and significantly less for health, education, housing and
foreign assistance.
So far, the House has approved two of the 12 annual spending bills. The
Senate has yet to approve any, but those bills that have advanced out of
the Senate Appropriations Committee are enjoying bipartisan support
while the House bills are generally advancing out of committee on party
line votes.
This week, the Senate is expected to consider the appropriations bill to
fund military construction projects and the Department of Veterans
Affairs, generally one of the easier spending bills to pass. One or two
others could get added to the package.
Congress got off to a late start on the funding process. Republicans
prioritized Trump's tax and spending cut bill. Most lawmakers agree
Congress will need to pass a stop-gap measure before Sept. 30 to avoid a
shutdown and allow lawmakers more time to work on the full-year spending
measures.
The view from Democrats
Democrats overwhelmingly opposed this year's funding bill that expires
in two months. But in the end, Schumer and nine Democratic colleagues
decided a government shutdown would be even worse. They voted to allow
the bill to proceed and overcome a filibuster, giving Republicans the
ability to pass it on their own on a final vote.
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Schumer took considerable heat from progressives for his strategy.
House Democratic leadership issued a statement at the time saying
“House Democrats will not be complicit.” And members of his own
caucus publicly expressed disagreement.
“If we pass this continuing resolution for the next half year, we
will own what the president does,” said Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif.
“I am not willing to take ownership of that.”
Some liberal groups threatened to hold protests at various events
Schumer was planning to promote a new book, and some of those events
ended up being postponed due to security concerns.
The Democratic frustrations have only grown stronger in the ensuing
months.
First, the Democrats watched the Trump administration slow-walk or
block hundreds of billions of dollars from going out in part through
the work of its Department of Government Efficiency. Then they
watched as Republicans passed Trump's big tax and spending cut bill
without any Democratic votes.
Finally, they watched as Republicans this month canceled $9 billion
in foreign aid and public broadcasting funds when much of it had
been previously agreed to on a bipartisan basis.
Meanwhile, Trump's director of the Office of Management and Budget,
Russ Vought, declared that the appropriations process "has to be
less bipartisan.”
Democrats complain that much of the work taking place in the House
has been a waste of time, since those partisan bills have no chance
of getting 60 votes in the 100-member Senate.
“At this point in time, why have appropriations if they can just
unilaterally through rescissions whack it all away?” said Rep. Mike
Quigley, D-Ill. “I think what you’re seeing is more frustration than
I’ve ever witnessed.”
Republicans position for impasse
Republicans control all the levers of power in Washington. That
could make it harder to blame Democrats for a shutdown. But in the
end, any bill will need some Democratic support to get the 60 votes
needed to overcome a filibuster.
“Our concern is that from their standpoint, they want to have a
shutdown,” Sen. John Hoeven, R-N.D., said of Democrats. “... The
Democrats see it as a way to derail the agenda that we're putting
through.”
Sen. John Barrasso, the No. 2-ranked Republican in the Senate, said
Republicans were determined to hold votes on the 12 spending bills.
He said that Schumer “had unilaterally shut down the appropriations
process” in previous years by not holding such votes, moving instead
to negotiate directly with GOP leadership in the House and
then-President Joe Biden's Democratic administration on an
all-encompassing spending package.
“If Democrats walk away from this process again, simply to protect
wasteful Washington spending," Barrasso said, “they will be the ones
sabotaging the Senate and shutting down the government.”
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