Senate Dems side with Schumer, sidestepping government shutdown



Senate Democrats caved and voted alongside Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), reaching across the aisle to pass the Republican-led continuing resolution Friday just hours before the funding deadline.

The CR advanced in a 62-38 vote, with 10 Democrats joining 52 Republicans to pass the funding bill.

In addition to Schumer, Democratic Sens. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, Dick Durbin of Illinois, Brian Schatz of Hawaii, Gary Peters of Michigan, Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire, Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada, John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, and independent Sen. Angus King of Maine voted in support of the bill. Republican Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky was the only GOP senator to vote against the CR.

Although the CR passed the House with a simple majority on Tuesday, the Senate required 60 votes for the CR to clear a procedural hurdle known as cloture. Because Republicans hold just 53 seats, they needed Democrats to join them and avert a shutdown.

'Democrats must not buy in to this false choice. We must fight back for a better way.'

While Democrats ultimately aided Republicans, many were furious with Schumer and other senators who sided with him to pass a Trump-backed funding bill.

Democrats, including Schumer, initially signaled that they would vote in lockstep to sink the CR and shut down the government. Many Democrats also proposed an alternative 30-day funding extension, which would allow them to negotiate a different CR. But Democrats are the minority party in both the House and the Senate, making this an unrealistic option.

Schumer quickly pivoted from his original advocacy for a shutdown and instead urged his colleagues to pass the CR, arguing that a shutdown is worse than an unfavorable funding package.

"It's not really a decision; it's a Hobson's choice," Schumer said in a floor speech Thursday. "Either proceed with the bill before us, or risk Donald Trump rowing America into the chaos of a shutdown. This, in my view, is no choice at all. While the CR bill is very bad, the potential for a shutdown has consequences for America that are much, much worse."

Schumer's reversal outraged his Democratic colleagues, sparking murmurs of potential primary challengers like Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York.

"I think it is a huge slap in the face, and I think that there's a wide sense of betrayal," Ocasio-Cortez told reporters Thursday.

It wasn't just the rank and file who were upset with Schumer. Without explicitly naming him, former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) both disavowed Schumer's approach.

"House Democrats will not be complicit," Jeffries said. "We remain strongly opposed to the partisan spending bill under consideration in the Senate."

"Donald Trump and Elon Musk have offered the Congress a false choice between a government shutdown or a blank check that makes a devastating assault on the well-being of working families across America," Pelosi said in a statement Friday. "Let's be clear: Neither is a good option for the American people. But this false choice that some are buying instead of fighting is unacceptable."

"Democrats must not buy in to this false choice," Pelosi added. "We must fight back for a better way."

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Trump's Interior, EPA Picks Vow To Unleash American Energy as Democrats Struggle To Land a Blow in Hearings

Former North Dakota governor Doug Burgum (R.) and former New York congressman Lee Zeldin (R.), President-elect Donald Trump's picks to lead the Interior Department and EPA, respectively, appear to have a glide path to Senate approval following their confirmation hearings Thursday.

The post Trump's Interior, EPA Picks Vow To Unleash American Energy as Democrats Struggle To Land a Blow in Hearings appeared first on .

Independent Sen. Angus King of Maine says voters should get to decide about Trump: 'This is the ultimate check within our Constitutional system'



In response to Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows' move to block former President Donald Trump from the primary ballot, Sen. Angus King of Maine, an independent who is listed as a member of the Senate Democratic caucus, issued a statement in which he suggested that voters should get to decide the fate Trump's presidential candidacy.

"Under the established Constitutional process, the Senate was called upon to determine this precise question in Donald Trump's impeachment trial in January, 2021. While I voted with a bipartisan majority to convict, the required two-thirds of the Senate did not do so," King said in the statement.

While the House voted to impeach then-President Trump in the wake of the January 6, 2021 Capitol riot, the Senate vote — which occurred in February after Trump had already departed from office — fell short of the threshold necessary for conviction.

"Although I respect the Secretary of State's careful process — which she was specifically required to undertake under Maine law — absent a final judicial determination of a violation of the 14th Amendment's disqualification clause, I believe the decision as to whether or not Mr. Trump should again be considered for the presidency should rest with the people as expressed in free and fair elections. This is the ultimate check within our Constitutional system," King concluded.

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In her decision, Bellows stated that evidence demonstrated "the falsity of Mr. Trump's declaration that he meets the qualifications of the office of the presidency," and she declared that "as required ... I find that the primary petition of Mr. Trump is invalid."

But her ruling may never actually take effect, because she stipulated, "I will suspend the effect of my decision until the Superior Court rules on any appeal, or the time to appeal under 21-A, Section 337 has expired."

"We will quickly file a legal objection in state court to prevent this atrocious decision in Maine from taking effect," Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung said in a Thursday statement.

Democratic Rep. Jared Golden of Maine said in a statement that unless Trump is determined to be guilty of insurrection, he should be permitted to be appear on the ballot.

"I voted to impeach Donald Trump for his role in the January 6th insurrection," Golden said in the statement. "I do not believe he should be re-elected as President of the United States. However, we are a nation of laws, therefore until he is actually found guilty of the crime of insurrection, he should be allowed on the ballot."

Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, who was one of the seven GOP senators who voted to convict Trump after the House voted to impeach him in 2021, does not think that Bellows' decision should stand.

"Maine voters should decide who wins the election – not a Secretary of State chosen by the Legislature. The Secretary of State's decision would deny thousands of Mainers the opportunity to vote for the candidate of their choice, and it should be overturned," a post on the @SenatorCollins X account reads. The social media account indicates that "All tweets originate from the Press Office of Senator Susan Collins."

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Anti-Trump Maine Senator Comes Out Against Decision To Remove Him From State Ballot

'This is the ultimate check within our Constitutional system'

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