The odds of a government shutdown are spiking, after Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer rejected Republicans’ funding proposals by saying they “can’t get our votes.”
Republicans have proposed several short-term funding options running from November to January, but Democrats want Republicans to negotiate with them, especially on extending expiring health care subsidies.
“If that’s his position, then he’s calling for a government shutdown,” Senate Appropriations Chair Susan Collins told Semafor of Schumer’s comments. “I personally support an extension in some form of those tax credits. But that doesn’t really have anything to do with the need to keep [the] government funded.”
Still, Democrats might consider a very short stopgap bill as a bridge to a bigger bipartisan deal, said Sen. John Hickenlooper, D-Colo.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries will convene a meeting with Schumer and other top Democrats this morning.
— Burgess Everett