NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., railed against Senate Democrats’ move to block the GOP’s short-term funding extension as Congress gears up for a government shutdown.
Democratic lawmakers led by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., voted to block Republicans’ continuing resolution (CR) for a second time just hours ahead of the deadline to fund the government.
It’s unlikely that a deal will be struck in the waning hours of fiscal year (FY) 2025, and neither side is ready to blink.
Thune said there would be more votes to come on the same bill but noted that if Schumer wanted to talk, he knows where to find him. He also said there are Democrats who “are very unhappy with the situation that they are in.”
GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN RISK GROWS AFTER DEMS BLOCK TRUMP-BACKED EXTENSION FOR A 2ND TIME
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., talks to reporters outside the West Wing of the White House on Sept. 29, 2025, in Washington, as House Speaker Mike Johnson of La., listens. (Alex Brandon/AP Photo)
“We didn’t ask Democrats to swallow any new Republican policies. We didn’t add partisan riders,” Thune said. “We simply asked Democrats to extend existing funding levels to allow the Senate to continue the bipartisan appropriations work that we started.”
“And Senate Democrats said no,” he continued. “Why? Because far left interest groups and far left Democrat members wanted a showdown with the president. And so, Senate Democrats have sacrificed the American people to Democrats’ partisan interests.”
Republicans tried and failed to again advance their CR, which would have extended government funding until Nov. 21 with the main goal of giving lawmakers more time to pass the dozen spending bills needed to fund the government, a feat that hasn’t been accomplished since the 1990s.
HOUSE DEMOCRATS’ GOVERNMENT FUNDING PROPOSAL GOES DOWN IN FLAMES WITH SHUTDOWN DEADLINE IN HOURS
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer,…
