With government funding set to expire on Friday night, Democrats find themselves in the position of being able to block the GOP bill, but also wary of the government shutdown that would ensue if they do so. Democratic leaders are instead pushing for a 30-day funding extension that would allow more time for negotiations on new spending bills — a nonstarter, given Republican control of the House and Senate.
A possible solution began to emerge after Senate Democrats met on Capitol Hill on Wednesday. The plan would call for Democrats to provide the votes needed to advance the GOP bill in exchange for a vote on an amendment with their own one-month stopgap measure, which would almost certainly fail. Democrats who oppose the GOP version could then vote against its final passage. Some members see it as a way to save face while also avoiding a shutdown.
“I think we’re going to all be ‘no’ on cloture unless we get an agreement to propose at least this 30-day clean [continuing resolution] amendment and maybe a couple of others,” Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia told reporters Thursday morning. “So we’ll be ‘no’ on cloture unless we get an agreement to do that. I’m not aware of whether the Republicans have agreed to that yet, but we’ll be ‘no’ on cloture if we don’t get it, and I think that’s a unified position.”
The Republicans do not currently have a filibuster proof majority in the Senate. Dems can’t pass anything, but they absolutely can prevent stuff from passing.
That would take courage. Like useless Chuck Schumer, The corporate Dems have none.