Senate Democrats face a stark choice: They can vote to support a House GOP stopgap measure they’ve been criticizing, or the federal government will shut down.
Less than three days before a possible government shutdown, Democrats are still divided over whether they should attempt to utilize their leverage to extract concessions from Republicans or risk being blamed for a shutdown.
At least eight Democratic senators must join Republicans for a continuing resolution to pass in the upper chamber since Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) said he is opposed to the measure this week.
Nearly every member of the Democratic caucus has publicly condemned the measure, which raises defense spending by about $8 billion and lowers nondefense spending by about $13 billion with cuts to healthcare and research grants.
So far, Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) is the only Senate Democrat who says he will vote with Republicans to advance the bill. He argues that if Democrats shut down the government in an attempt to rein in the Department of Government Efficiency’s wide-scale cuts, they risk taking the blame for hurting federal workers and critical government services.
“I’m daring them, go ahead, shut the government down. They’re going to own it, and then that’s going to be bad for everybody, especially the people … the economy and the government workers that now are going to be furloughed and they’re not going to get paid,” Fetterman said while speaking with reporters Wednesday afternoon.
“If we vote to shut [the government] down, then that’s going to be on Democrats; we’re going to own that, and I refuse to participate on a vote that shuts our government down,” he added.
Senate Democrats huddled behind closed doors on Tuesday, looking at all their options regarding the House-passed bill. A number of swing state Democrats argued against a government shutdown even if it means voting for a bill they don’t support.
Others warned that shutting down the government could backfire on them and empower Trump to dismantle more of the federal government.
“I read that [the Office of Management and Budget] would be in charge of things during a shutdown. That’s a concern,” said Sen. Angus King (I-ME), who caucuses with Democrats.
Sen. John Hickenlooper (D-CO) told reporters Wednesday he is still undecided on the seven-month funding bill, calling it a lose-lose situation.
“I’ve gone back and forth on this because it is two horrible choices, and it’s hard to imagine two worse choices. In either case, you can envision terrible things happening, people losing funding for essential things in Colorado that people depend on,” Hickenlooper explained. “It’s a waterfall of horribles.”
Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) said he’s working with leadership to add some amendment votes to change the legislation.
“We ought to get some amendments,” he said. “We are the greatest deliberative body. I’m going to push for amendments; that’s what I’m going to do.”
Democrats met in a closed-door session on Wednesday afternoon to discuss the path forward. Some Senate Democrats expressed concerns about voting for the legislation since it will send a message to Republicans that they can write government funding bills without compromising with Democrats, knowing that some will ultimately cave and support the measure anyway.
Sen. Adam Schiff (D-CA) announced he would not vote for the bill, arguing it will “further cement the Trump Administration’s chaos and reckless actions.”
“This bill would allow Donald Trump, Elon Musk and illegal DOGE operators to continue shutting down parts of the government that help our constituents — like veterans’ services, Social Security offices, firefighters, bird flu experts, and much more,” Schiff said on X. “It would also perpetuate Trump’s economy-busting tariffs by putting them beyond congressional repeal.”
Democrats are facing growing pressure from the left flank of their party to oppose the House bill, which passed along party lines on Tuesday. House Republicans adjourned on Tuesday night and are not expected to return to the nation’s capital until March 24.
They’ve been caught flat-footed and have struggled to respond to the sheer volume of executive orders, personnel changes, and policy shifts that have occurred in the roughly month and a half since Trump’s inauguration.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) urged Democrats in the Senate to block a test vote on the House’s continuing resolution, warning them to be clear-eyed about “procedural games.”
“It should be very clear to every Senate Democrat that any vote for Cloture will also be considered a vote for the bill,” Ocasio-Cortez posted on X. “People aren’t going to be tricked with procedural games.”
Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) said the pressure from grassroots liberals to join House Democrats in withholding their votes doesn’t weigh on his decision but indicated he’s inclined to vote against the legislation.
“That’s not how I think about my job — right, my job is to do the right thing for the country and for my state,” Murphy said. “That’s the way I’ve made my calculation. I don’t want to set up slush funds for the president. I ultimately want to make sure that the services that matter most in Connecticut get funded in this.”
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) is warning Democrats that they would be blamed for a government shutdown if they block the government funding bill.
“Without action from Congress, the government will run out of funding come Friday,” Thune said, speaking to reporters during a weekly press conference on Tuesday. “Here we are on the brink of a government shutdown, which will be entirely of the Democrats’ making if it happens.”
— Senate Republicans (@SenateGOP) March 12, 2025
The Senate Republican Conference is already preparing to shape the narrative, posting on X to blame Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) for a shutdown.
HOUSE GOP PASSES STOPGAP FUNDING BILL WITH HELP OF TRUMP-VANCE PRESSURE CAMPAIGN
“Sen. Chuck Schumer is so mad that Joe Biden lost that he wants to shut down the government,” a graphic posted on their account read.
Government funding is due to lapse at 12 a.m. ET Saturday. A vote on the legislation has not yet been set.
Ramsey Touchberry contributed to this report.