WASHINGTON — Republican and Democratic lawmakers show no signs of budging as the House takes up a bill Friday to avert a partial government shutdown in less than two weeks.
The bill would generally continue existing funding levels through Nov. 21. Democratic leaders are adamantly opposed and are threatening a government shutdown if Republicans don’t let them have a say on the measure, as some Democratic support will be needed to get a bill to the president’s desk for his signature.
House Speaker Mike Johnson has few votes to spare as he seeks to persuade Republicans to vote for the funding patch, something many in his conference have routinely opposed in past budget fights. But this time, GOP members see a chance to portray the Democrats as responsible for a shutdown, which would begin Oct. 1, unless Congress acts.
In a sign the vote could be close, President Donald Trump weighed in Thursday, urging House Republicans to pass the bill and put the burden on Democrats to oppose it. GOP leaders often need Trump’s help to win over holdouts on legislation.
“Every House Republican should UNIFY, and VOTE YES!” Trump said on his social media site.
Republicans can pass the bill in the House if they stay united, and the speaker expressed confidence Thursday he had the votes.
“We’re going to get this government funded,” Johnson said.
Across the Capitol, though, Senate Democrats are hoping the public will support their proposal to head off a big increase next year in health insurance premiums for millions of Americans who purchase coverage through the marketplaces established by the Affordable Care Act. They unveiled their own funding plan to extend the enhanced health insurance subsidies set to expire at the end of the year, plus reverse Medicaid cuts that were included in Republicans’ “big beautiful bill” enacted earlier this year.
“The American people will look at what Republicans are doing, look at what Democrats are doing, and it will be clear that public sentiment will be on our side,” said Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, who has repeatedly threatened a shutdown if health care isn’t addressed.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said the Senate will vote on the House bill Friday, if it passes, along with the dueling Democratic proposal. But neither is expected to win the 60 votes necessary for passage.
Senators could then potentially leave town until Sept. 29 — one day before the shutdown deadline. The Senate has a scheduled recess next week because of Rosh Hashana, the Jewish new year.
Democrats on both sides of the Capitol are watching Schumer closely after his last-minute decision in March to vote with Republicans to keep the government open. Schumer argued then that a shutdown would be damaging and would give Trump and his White House freedom to make more government cuts. Many on the left revolted, with some advocates calling for his resignation.
The vote in the spring also caused a temporary schism with House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, who opposed the GOP spending bill and said he would not be “complicit” with Schumer’s vote.
The two Democratic leaders now say they are united, and Schumer says things have changed since March. The public is more wary of Trump and Republicans, Schumer says, after the passage of Medicaid cuts.
Most Democrats appear to be backing Schumer’s demand that there be negotiations on the bill — and support his threats of a shutdown, even as it is unclear how they would get out of it.
Republicans say the blame would be clearly on the other side if they can’t pass a bill — and are using Schumer’s previous arguments against shutdowns against him.
“Democrats would love nothing more to put in our lap a shutdown. It’s not going to happen. If it does, it’s on them,” said Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., a member of the House Freedom Caucus, whose members have frequently opposed short-term funding bills, known as continuing resolutions.
Sen. John Barrasso, the No. 2 Republican in the Senate, said: “Senator Schumer himself said that passing a clean CR will avert a harmful and unnecessary shutdown. Now he wants to cause a harmful and unnecessary shutdown.”
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Associated Press writer Mary Clare Jalonick contributed to this report.
