Elizabeth Warren, the Democratic Senator from Massachusetts, has urged her fellow Senate Democrats to abstain from the bipartisan appropriations process for the forthcoming fiscal year.
This move, made on Wednesday, could potentially pave the way for Senate Democrats to endorse a partial government shutdown later this year.
As reported by Daily Caller, Senator Warren, a prominent figure within the left-wing faction of the Senate Democratic Caucus, has advocated for a more aggressive stance during the appropriations negotiations this autumn. Her ire stems from the Republicans' decision to bypass Democrats' objections and cut funding for public broadcasting and foreign aid in July.
The Senator's rejection of bipartisan government funding negotiations is likely to intensify pressure on Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer to back a filibuster, potentially leading to a partial government shutdown in September.
"Why should Democrats come to the table in good faith and throw our support behind a quote-unquote bipartisan bill, only for Republicans to turn around after the deal is done and, somewhere down the line, delete any of the parts Trump doesnt like?" Warren questioned on the Senate floor on Wednesday. She likened the situation to Republicans selling a car and then stealing the wheels a month later.
Senate Democrats have expressed their outrage at Republicans following the successful passage of a rescissions package, spearheaded by the White House, which aims to claw back a mere 0.1% of the federal governments approximately $7 trillion budget. Warren labeled this measure as one of Trumps worst efforts.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune is up against a September 30 deadline to fund government operations for the upcoming fiscal year. He has consistently asserted that the responsibility of preventing a partial shutdown rests on Senate Democrats.
Government funding bills require a 60-vote threshold in the upper chamber, necessitating Democrats to provide seven votes for passage in a scenario where every GOP senator is present and voting yes.
Warren's call for Senate Democrats to fight back rather than cooperate with Republicans to pass bipartisan appropriations on the Senate floor comes amidst an ongoing internal struggle within the Democratic party over the degree of resistance to congressional Republicans and the Trump administration.
Schumer faced harsh criticism from his colleagues in March for his decision to back a GOP spending bill to prevent a lapse in government funding. Warren notably stated that Schumer was wrong to vote to advance the GOP spending measure and refrained from commenting on whether he should continue serving in the top Democratic role during a town hall in March.
Warren was among the eight Senate Democrats who voted against a procedural motion advancing a government funding bill on July 22. Im asking my Democratic colleagues to join me in using the power we have to fight back, Warren urged on the floor on Wednesday.
Thune has recognized that Schumer is under significant pressure from the far-left faction of his caucus to support a partial government shutdown. Another Democratic lawmaker, Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman, has previously criticized his colleagues for their shutdown threats and pledged to collaborate with Republicans to keep government operations running.
The pressure is going to be enormous from the left wing of the party, Thune told the Ruthless podcast on Thursday, suggesting that Schumer might succumb to demands from his base to endorse a partial shutdown. And increasingly, youre seeing the tail wagging the dog in the Senate. So, you know, its Elizabeth Warren, its Bernie Sanders, its Cory Booker, Chris Murphy, kind of the left of the left in the Senate.
Schumer has not yet declared whether he would provide enough votes to prevent a shutdown this fall. If we end up with a Schumer shutdown at the end of the year, the Democrats are going to own that, Thune stated on Tuesday at the Senate GOP leadership press conference. In the meantime, were going to do everything we can to try and move the appropriations process forward.
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