Senate passes GOP spending bill, averting shutdown and sparking democratic rift over Trump

The US Congress approved the Republican spending bill on Friday, just hours before the deadline, preventing a government shutdown. The bill’s passing, however, unearthed the deep rifts in the Democratic Party, showing that the members are divided on how to deal with President Donald Trump.

Failing to pass the government’s spending bill would have given the Democratic party room to stop Trump and Elon Musk’s mass dismissals and the dismantling of federal agencies.

However, with a number of Democrats, like Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer, joining in to pass the bill, they’ve cleared a major procedural impediment for Trump’s administration.

Chuck Schumer says he’d rather drop a procedural blockade on the bill than risk having a government shutdown

The Democrats who helped pass the bill are now being heavily criticized by the public, seeing how Trump’s opponents will only have to rely on courts to halt his plans. 

Within the party, Democratic leaders also clashed over a difference in opinion. Those who backed the spending bill argued that a government shutdown would harm Americans more than Trump’s cost-cutting agenda. 

For instance, Senator Schumer claimed that his party had no good alternatives: they could either force a prolonged government shutdown to counter Trump or accept a Republican bill that would slash funding for veterans’ health care, firefighters, and police in Washington, DC. He added that he’d rather block the spending bill later than risk a government shutdown.

He commented:

“I believe it is the best way to minimize the harm that the Trump administration will do to the American people. Clearly, this is a Hobson’s choice. The CR is a bad bill, but as bad as the CR is, I believe allowing Donald Trump to take even much more power via a government shutdown is a far worse option.” – Chuck Schumer

Schumer’s bill support, however, is a political victory for Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson, who persistently pushed for the bill to advance the government’s cost-cutting plans. Trump even commended Schumer, saying he did the right thing by supporting the bill.

Democrat leaders are second-guessing minority leader Chuck Schumer

Before the bill’s passing, Democrats like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez had called for the public to push against it. As a result, Americans called multiple senators’ offices, asking them to vote against the bill.

However, as matters stand, many Democrats believe Schumer let them down. On Friday, when reporters asked House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries whether he still had confidence in Schumer, he did not give a direct answer and only asked reporters for the next question.

The 52nd speaker of the United States House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, also argued that senators made the wrong choice by accepting the bill rather than fighting against it, taking a hit at senators like Schumer without naming them directly. 

Biden’s domestic chief policy adviser Susan Rice even asked Democrat leaders to “grow a spine”, asking them why they would want to “roll over and play dead.”

Schumer has, however, stated that he’s proud of the decision he made, believing it was the right thing to do to protect his party. He even said he expected that some would disagree with his choice, claiming that’s always the case in such situations.

Additionally, Senator Martin Henrich asked Democrats to come together, telling them that it’s not the right time to doubt their leader, Schumer, if they are going to stand against Trump.

Virginia Sen. Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, also claimed he had confidence in Schumer, although he voted no on the Republican spending bill. He added that he respects all other democrats who supported the bill, claiming they were all torn between two awful choices.

So far, the party’s more progressive voters are still insistent on opposing Musk’s plan to eliminate federal agencies. Many moderates, however, are leaning towards fighting to protect Medicaid and against the impact of Trump’s destructive trade tariffs.

Nevertheless, the Senate approved a separate measure to allow Washington, DC, to have some authority over spending, but the measure still needs the House’s approval.

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