Four years ago, Senate Democrats crusaded to gut the filibuster amid frustrations over slow progress in advancing former President Joe Biden’s agenda.
Now they’re gearing up to embrace that very same tool to block a Republican bill to prevent a partial government shutdown Friday at midnight — and are hoping that the GOP bears the brunt of public blame.
“Republicans control the House, Senate, and the White House. And they don’t care if they destroy the economy with a schizophrenic tariff policy, or by shutting down the government. None of it matters, if that can give another tax cut to the wealthy,” Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) chided Thursday.
Given their 53-seat majority — and Sen. Rand Paul’s (R-Ky.) opposition to the bill to avert a shutdown — the Senate GOP will need at least eight Democratic votes to invoke cloture to overcome a 60-vote filibuster.
But Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) has made clear that there is no appetite among his members to give Republicans those votes.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer wants Republicans to consider an alternative measure to keep the government funded for 28 days. Getty Images
Instead, he wants them to back an alternative 28-day plan to extend government funding so that Democrats can negotiate a different deal.
“Republicans chose a partisan path,” Schumer declared on the Senate floor Wednesday. “Because of that, Republicans do not have the votes in the Senate to invoke cloture on the House CR.”
Ironically, back in 2022, Schumer took up consideration of a measure in 2022 to shift to a watered-down “talking filibuster” on two pieces of voting rights legislation. That move was widely seen as the opening salvo in efforts to defang the filibuster broadly.
Ultimately, every Democrat, except former Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kysten Sinema of Arizona voted for the switch to a talking filibuster in which the Senate would’ve considered the legislation after the minority party stopped talking.
Senate Democrats have struggled internally over how to approach the government shutdown fight. AP
Now, 38 of those Democratic aligned senators are still in the Senate, where they reap the benefits of the filibuster, one of the few tools the minority party enjoys.
Outside the Senate, Democrats in the lower chamber are demanding their peers hold the line against Republicans on the government shutdown fight, including ones who wanted the filibuster eliminated.
“It should be very clear to every Senate Democrat that any vote for Cloture will also be considered a vote for the bill,” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) wrote on X, telling her followers to call their Democratic senators and whip up opposition to the CR.
“Republicans run the House, the Senate, and the White House. You run the government. If you have the votes, then go ahead,” she had chided in another post.
Given their 53-seat majority, the Senate GOP led by Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) will need at least eight Democratic votes to invoke cloture to overcome a 60-vote filibuster. Getty Images
Four years ago, Ocasio-Cortez had scoffed at moderate Democrats in the Senate like Sinama (who later became an Independent) for backing the filibuster.
“The filibuster wasn’t made w/ purpose. It‘s the result of an accident in rulebook revision & bloomed as a cherished tool of segregationists. Now it empowers minority rule. That’s not ‘special,’ it’s unjust,” she jabbed in 2021.
Internally, Senate Democrats have struggled over the government shutdown fight. On the one hand, many see this as the last major opportunity to extract concessions from Republicans on issues like the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
On the other hand, there are fears that a government shutdown will be particularly painful and could help embolden DOGE to be even more aggressive. There’s also risks that they could bear the blame.
“If there’s a shutdown, it’s only because of the Democrats — and they would really be taking away a lot from our country and from the people of our country,” President Trump chided Thursday.
“If there’s a shutdown, it’s only because of the Democrats — and they would really be taking away a lot from our country and from the people of our country,” President Trump chided Thursday. Aaron Schwartz / CNP / SplashNews.com
Republicans have also been pummeling Democrats, accusing them of hypocrisy given their past warnings about the toll a government shutdown would take on the country.
“A Republican shutdown would be nothing short of a disaster,” Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) warned last year. “It costs the American taxpayer dearly and stunts the economy all while severely disrupting the basic functions of government across agencies like the FAA and FDA.”
Now, Murray is opposing the GOP spending patch to avert a government shutdown.
“Avoiding a government shutdown is not a positive achievement. It’s kind of like not punching yourself in the face — good not to do,” Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) said in 2024. “And when we go through this so a handful of senators can fundraise off amendments they know won’t pass, it’s aggravating.”
Whitehouse is also opposing the Republican CR.
House Speaker Mike Johnson managed to pass the CR through the lower chamber despite his caucus’ penchant for splintering on such measures. Shutterstock
House Republicans had crafted their CR to make minimal changes to government funding levels, such as a $10 billion increase to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) funding and a $6 billion boost to defense.
To help pay for that, the CR pared back on about $13 billion in non-defense discretionary spending.
“The House has done its job and passed a clean CR to fund the federal government,” House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said in a statement Thursday. “If Senate Democrats block an up-or-down vote, then it’s crystal clear: they are responsible for the ensuing government shutdown. Period.”
After passing the CR, the House broke for recess until March 24 and Johnson has said there’s no desire to call the lower chamber back early.
Sen. John Fetterman is the sole Democrat in the upper chamber backing the CR. Getty Images
Thus far, the only Democratic senator to back the CR is Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.)
“Voting to shut the government down will punish millions or risk a recession,” Fetterman said in a statement. “I disagree with many points in the CR, but I will never vote to shut our government down.”
Four years ago, Senate Democrats crusaded to gut the filibuster amid frustrations over slow progress in advancing former President Joe Biden’s agenda.
Now they’re gearing up to embrace that very same tool to block a Republican bill to prevent a partial government shutdown Friday at midnight — and are hoping that the GOP bears the brunt of public blame.
“Republicans control the House, Senate, and the White House. And they don’t care if they destroy the economy with a schizophrenic tariff policy, or by shutting down the government. None of it matters, if that can give another tax cut to the wealthy,” Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) chided Thursday.
Given their 53-seat majority — and Sen. Rand Paul’s (R-Ky.) opposition to the bill to avert a shutdown — the Senate GOP will need at least eight Democratic votes to invoke cloture to overcome a 60-vote filibuster.
But Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) has made clear that there is no appetite among his members to give Republicans those votes.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer wants Republicans to consider an alternative measure to keep the government funded for 28 days. Getty Images
Instead, he wants them to back an alternative 28-day plan to extend government funding so that Democrats can negotiate a different deal.
“Republicans chose a partisan path,” Schumer declared on the Senate floor Wednesday. “Because of that, Republicans do not have the votes in the Senate to invoke cloture on the House CR.”
Ironically, back in 2022, Schumer took up consideration of a measure in 2022 to shift to a watered-down “talking filibuster” on two pieces of voting rights legislation. That move was widely seen as the opening salvo in efforts to defang the filibuster broadly.
Ultimately, every Democrat, except former Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kysten Sinema of Arizona voted for the switch to a talking filibuster in which the Senate would’ve considered the legislation after the minority party stopped talking.
Senate Democrats have struggled internally over how to approach the government shutdown fight. AP
Now, 38 of those Democratic aligned senators are still in the Senate, where they reap the benefits of the filibuster, one of the few tools the minority party enjoys.
Outside the Senate, Democrats in the lower chamber are demanding their peers hold the line against Republicans on the government shutdown fight, including ones who wanted the filibuster eliminated.
“It should be very clear to every Senate Democrat that any vote for Cloture will also be considered a vote for the bill,” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) wrote on X, telling her followers to call their Democratic senators and whip up opposition to the CR.
“Republicans run the House, the Senate, and the White House. You run the government. If you have the votes, then go ahead,” she had chided in another post.
Given their 53-seat majority, the Senate GOP led by Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) will need at least eight Democratic votes to invoke cloture to overcome a 60-vote filibuster. Getty Images
Four years ago, Ocasio-Cortez had scoffed at moderate Democrats in the Senate like Sinama (who later became an Independent) for backing the filibuster.
“The filibuster wasn’t made w/ purpose. It‘s the result of an accident in rulebook revision & bloomed as a cherished tool of segregationists. Now it empowers minority rule. That’s not ‘special,’ it’s unjust,” she jabbed in 2021.
Internally, Senate Democrats have struggled over the government shutdown fight. On the one hand, many see this as the last major opportunity to extract concessions from Republicans on issues like the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
On the other hand, there are fears that a government shutdown will be particularly painful and could help embolden DOGE to be even more aggressive. There’s also risks that they could bear the blame.
“If there’s a shutdown, it’s only because of the Democrats — and they would really be taking away a lot from our country and from the people of our country,” President Trump chided Thursday.
“If there’s a shutdown, it’s only because of the Democrats — and they would really be taking away a lot from our country and from the people of our country,” President Trump chided Thursday. Aaron Schwartz / CNP / SplashNews.com
Republicans have also been pummeling Democrats, accusing them of hypocrisy given their past warnings about the toll a government shutdown would take on the country.
“A Republican shutdown would be nothing short of a disaster,” Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) warned last year. “It costs the American taxpayer dearly and stunts the economy all while severely disrupting the basic functions of government across agencies like the FAA and FDA.”
Now, Murray is opposing the GOP spending patch to avert a government shutdown.
“Avoiding a government shutdown is not a positive achievement. It’s kind of like not punching yourself in the face — good not to do,” Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) said in 2024. “And when we go through this so a handful of senators can fundraise off amendments they know won’t pass, it’s aggravating.”
Whitehouse is also opposing the Republican CR.
House Speaker Mike Johnson managed to pass the CR through the lower chamber despite his caucus’ penchant for splintering on such measures. Shutterstock
House Republicans had crafted their CR to make minimal changes to government funding levels, such as a $10 billion increase to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) funding and a $6 billion boost to defense.
To help pay for that, the CR pared back on about $13 billion in non-defense discretionary spending.
“The House has done its job and passed a clean CR to fund the federal government,” House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said in a statement Thursday. “If Senate Democrats block an up-or-down vote, then it’s crystal clear: they are responsible for the ensuing government shutdown. Period.”
After passing the CR, the House broke for recess until March 24 and Johnson has said there’s no desire to call the lower chamber back early.
Sen. John Fetterman is the sole Democrat in the upper chamber backing the CR. Getty Images
Thus far, the only Democratic senator to back the CR is Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.)
“Voting to shut the government down will punish millions or risk a recession,” Fetterman said in a statement. “I disagree with many points in the CR, but I will never vote to shut our government down.”
