On Saturday, March 15, 2025, President Donald Trump signed a six-month funding bill proposed by the Republican party, avoiding a government shutdown. The Senate passed a spending bill mere hours before the shutdown deadline on Friday evening. This was the first funding fight of President Trump’s second term, leaving the Democratic Party in shambles. A 60-majority vote was needed to pass the senate, and they reached it after 10 Democrats switched votes, resulting in a final vote of 62-38.
Government Funding Bill
President Trump previously endorsed this bill as it is one of his many steps to “making America great again.” Of course he anticipated it would pass. The government will be funded through September 30, 2025, boosting the defense fund by $6 billion and imposing $13 billion in cuts to nondefense funding. If the bill failed, it would have resulted in a temporary government shutdown, which we have had many in the past, and always bounce back. However, we may not bounce back after this signed legislation.
The Democratic divide is showing and their unity strategy is failing. Days before the deadline, the Senate sat with a vote of 54-46, which included two Democrats and all but one Republican in support of the proposed legislation. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said Thursday he would vote in favor of the bill to avoid the chaos of a government shutdown. One day after he declared it would not pass without the Democrats, he reversed his vote. Now, he is facing backlash from his colleagues after voting in support, which led other Democrats to follow.
Averting a Government Shutdown
The Democrats were in a lose-lose situation from the very beginning. They had a choice to stand united against Trump and his overly erratic agenda, or be the reason for a government shutdown. Schumer received praise from the President Friday evening after the bill was passed. Trump said, “I appreciate Sen. Schumer and I think he did the right thing. Really, I’m very impressed by that.”
Besides Schumer, the other Democrats who voted to advance the bill include Senators Catherine Cortez Masto, Dick Durbin, John Fetterman, Kirsten Gillibrand, Maggie Hassan, Gary Peters, Brian Schatz, Jeanne Shaheen, and Angus King. The people are outraged by these representatives and made it clear they will not forget this in the next congressional election on November 3, 2026, when 33 of the Senate seats will be contested.
A Divided Party
The House Democrats who voted against the bill were disappointed in Schumer after hearing the results. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D) is one of a dozen who voted against the bill and claimed he does not have confidence in Schumer’s ability to lead the party. He might be right if Senator Schumer did not have a backbone this time, failing under pressure, what does this mean for the Senate moving forward?
Regardless, Schumer made a speech on the floor Friday defending his decision in the Senate. He argued that a government shutdown would be far worse, giving President Trump and his DOGE advisor Elon Musk more power. Schumer said, “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.” He continued, “A shutdown would allow DOGE to shift into overdrive. … It would give Donald Trump and DOGE the keys to the city, state and country.”
