Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer said Thursday that he’ll vote to advance a House-passed stopgap funding measure needed by Friday night to avert a partial government shutdown, likely providing cover for other Democrats still on the fence.
The comments from Schumer represent an about-face one day after he declared opposition to the full-year continuing resolution. He had instead demanded a vote on a one-month funding extension that would provide time to finish the detailed fiscal 2025 appropriations bills.
In a floor speech Thursday night after several days of closed-door caucus meetings where Democrats aired their views, Schumer said he came around to the fact that a shutdown would be worse than passing Republicans’ CR.
“I believe it is my job to make the best choice for the country, to minimize the harms to the American people,” Schumer, D-N.Y., said. “Therefore I will vote to keep the government open and not shut it down.”
He said Republicans’ “outright rejection” of Democrats’ short-term alternative left him little choice.
At least seven Democratic votes are needed for cloture because Republicans lack the 60 votes required under Senate rules to advance it on their own. Senators and aides expect a final vote on the measure Friday; it wasn’t yet clear if a cloture vote on the bill would be required.
After his floor speech, Schumer said there wasn’t a time agreement yet to wrap up action on the measure, as Democrats were still seeking some amendment votes. One of those could include the monthlong stopgap measure Democrats wrote, Schumer said. While it isn’t expected to succeed, it would at least allow Democrats to go on record backing their preferred alternative.
While negotiations for a time agreement continue, the chamber will go ahead, at least for the moment, with a cloture vote on the motion to proceed to the bill at 1:15 p.m. on Friday, Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., announced late Thursday.
A simple majority is needed for final passage, which would clear the measure for President Donald Trump’s signature, keeping the government open.
