Senate approves funding bill hours before shutdown deadline, sending to
Trump for signature
[March 15, 2025]
By KEVIN FREKING and LISA MASCARO
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate passed a Republican-led spending bill
Friday hours before a government shutdown, overcoming sharp Democratic
opposition to the measure and sending it to President Donald Trump to be
signed into law.
The essentially party-line vote, 54-46, didn't give the full picture of
gnawing Democratic angst over how to confront the Trump administration
as its Department of Government Efficiency fires federal workers and
dismantles operations. Democrats argued over whether to fight even
risking a shutdown and fumed that Republicans drafted a measure that
included little of their input, shortchanging health care, housing and
other priorities.
But in the end, enough of the Democratic senators decided a government
shutdown would be even worse, and backed Senate Democratic leader Chuck
Schumer's strategy to allow the bill to come forward.
“A shutdown will allow DOGE to shift into overdrive,” Schumer said.
“Donald Trump and Elon Musk would be free to destroy vital government
services at a much faster rate.”
Democrats were confronted with two painful options: allowing passage of
a bill they believe gives President Donald Trump vast discretion on
spending decisions or voting no and letting funding lapse. All told, 10
Democrats voted to break the party’s filibuster to advance the bill to a
final vote. On final passage, two Democrats supported the bill, and one
Republican, Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, opposed it. It funds the
government for another six months.
Schumer gave members of his caucus days to vent their frustration about
the options before them, but abruptly switched course and made clear on
the eve of voting that he would not allow a government shutdown. His
move outraged many in the party who want to fight the Trump agenda, but
gave senators room to side with Republicans and allow the continuing
resolution, often described as a CR, to advance.
Democrats from all corners looked to pressure senators to kill the bill.
House members wrote letters, posted on social media and held press
conferences in the hours before the vote.
“The American people sent Democrats to Congress to fight against
Republican dysfunction and chaos,” said a letter from 66 House Democrats
to Schumer.
House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries and his team dashed back to the
Capitol urging senators to block the bill and negotiate a true
compromise with Republicans. Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi called the
bill “unacceptable.”
Some Democrats also argued that Republicans would take the blame for a
shutdown, given they controlled all the levers of power in Congress and
the White House.
“If you refuse to put forward an offer that includes any Democratic
input and you don’t get Democratic votes, that’s on Republicans,” said
Sen. Patty Murray, the top Democrat on the Senate Appropriations
Committee.
In contrast, Schumer picked up one unexpected nod of support — from
Trump himself, who just a day earlier was gearing up to blame Democrats
for any shutdown.
“Congratulations to Chuck Schumer for doing the right thing — Took
‘guts’ and courage!” the president posted on his social media account.
Congress has been unable to pass the annual appropriations bills
designed to fund the government, so they've resorted to passing
short-term extensions instead. The legislation before the Senate is the
third such continuing resolution for the current fiscal year, now nearly
half over.
The legislation would fund the federal government through the end of
September. It would trim non-defense spending by about $13 billion from
the previous year and increase defense spending by about $6 billion,
which are marginal changes when talking about a topline spending level
of nearly $1.7 trillion.
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Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., responds to reporters as the Senate
works to avert a partial government shutdown ahead of the midnight
deadline, at the Capitol in Washington, Friday, March 14, 2025. (AP
Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
The Republican-led House passed the spending bill Tuesday and then
adjourned. The move left senators with a decision to either take it
or leave it. And while Democrats pushed for a vote on a fourth
short-term extension, GOP leadership made clear that option was a
non-starter.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., and others made the case
that any blame for a shutdown would fall squarely on Democrats. And
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said Republicans stood together
to get the job done.
Meanwhile, some House Democrats lashed out at their colleagues
across the Capitol after the vote.
“The constituents I represent need Democrats to stand up to this
rogue administration,” said Rep. Steven Horsford, D-Nev. “What they
got from Senate Democrats today was capitulation instead.”
But Schumer said Trump would seize more power during a shutdown,
because it would give the administration the ability to deem whole
agencies, programs and personnel non-essential, furloughing staff
with no promise they would ever be rehired.
Democrats were critical of the funding levels in the bill. But they
are more worried about the discretion the bill gives the Trump
administration on spending decisions. Many Democrats are referring
to the measure as a “blank check” for Trump.
Spending bills typically come with specific funding directives for
key programs, but hundreds of those directives fall away under the
continuing resolution passed by the House. So the administration
will have more leeway to decide where the money goes.
For example, a Democratic memo said the bill would allow the
administration to steer money away from combating fentanyl and
instead use it on mass deportation initiatives.
Several amendments to the bill failed, but one to eliminate funding
for DOGE drew support from a Republican, Sen. Lisa Murkowski of
Alaska.
The spending bill before the Senate is separate from the GOP effort
to extend tax cuts for individuals passed in Trump's first term and
to partially pay for them with spending cuts elsewhere in
government.
That second package will be developed in the months ahead, but it
was clearly part of the political calculus.
“You're looking at a one-two punch, a very bad CR, then a
reconciliation bill coming down, which will be the final kick in the
teeth for the American people,” said Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.
Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., said the Democratic arguments for voting
against the bill were hypocritical because they were essentially
calling for shutting down the government to protect the government.
“Democrats are fighting to withhold the paychecks of air traffic
controllers, our troops, federal custodial staff,” Cotton said.
“They can't be serious.”
Senators also unanimously approved a separate bill to fix an
unexpected provision in the package that would require the District
of Columbia to revert to 2024 budget levels, a cut of some $1.1
billion, even though the district raises most of its own money. That
bill, which now goes to House, would allow spending at 2025 levels.
___
Associated Press writers Leah Askarinam and Matt Brown contributed
to this story from Leesburg, Va.
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