Congress Returns With Just Weeks To Prevent Government Shutdown

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Congress, which reconvenes Tuesday, is facing less than a month to fulfill one of its most basic duties; funding the government to avoid a partial shutdown. In recent years, lawmakers have repeatedly struggled with this task.

The partisan climate has only grown more toxic in the first year of President Donald Trump’s new term. Democrats are fuming over his refusal to spend money previously agreed upon in bipartisan deals, as well as a tax-cut package passed in July that analysts warned could leave more than 10 million low-income Americans without health coverage.

Negotiations over the $1.8 trillion in discretionary spending, part of the $7 trillion federal budget, are expected to be tangled further by clashes over information tied to Jeffrey Epstein, a onetime associate of Trump, and the administration’s deployment of federal agents and National Guard units to Washington, D.C.

Since 1981, there have been 14 partial government shutdowns, usually lasting just days. The longest was the 34-day shutdown in late 2018 and early 2019 during Trump’s first term. Republicans currently hold a 219–212 advantage in the House and a 53–47 majority in the Senate, though most legislation there needs 60 votes, requiring support from at least seven Democrats. Both parties are already maneuvering to assign blame if the government closes again.

Before Republicans granted Trump’s push to slash $9 billion from foreign aid and public broadcasting, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer warned in July that Democrats would not treat the appropriations process as “business as usual.” He said Republicans had undermined bipartisan trust by cutting funding that Congress had already approved.

Schumer had faced backlash earlier this year when he helped pass a stopgap bill to keep the government open. He argued then that allowing a shutdown would have been worse. Now, Democratic leaders have asked for talks with Republicans and want assurances they won’t see more unilateral cuts pushed by the White House.

Schumer escalated his rhetoric Tuesday, accusing Trump of “waging an all-out war against Congress’ Article I authority and the constitutional balance of power.” He pressed Republicans to choose whether they would “stand up for the legislative branch or enable Trump’s slide toward authoritarianism.”

On the Senate floor, Majority Leader John Thune struck a more optimistic note: “I hope that the process will continue in a bipartisan way as we move toward the September deadline.”

Some Democrats are looking to use the deadline as political leverage. Senator Elizabeth Warren told supporters in Nebraska: “In September, the Republicans are going to need to get a budget through to keep the government open and to do that they are going to need some Democratic votes. You want my vote — and I hope the votes of the rest of these Democrats – then by golly, you can restore healthcare for 10 million Americans!”

Meanwhile, the nation’s debt has climbed to $37.25 trillion, a burden that has grown under both Republican and Democratic administrations as spending has consistently outpaced revenue.

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