Democratic leaders signaled Tuesday they will oppose the GOP-led stopgap funding bill just hours after it was unveiled — and just two weeks before a possible government shutdown.
“The House Republican-only spending bill fails to meet the needs of the American people and does nothing to stop the looming healthcare crisis,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said in a joint statement. “At a time when families are already being squeezed by higher costs, Republicans refuse to stop Americans from facing double-digit hikes in their health insurance premiums.”
House GOP leaders are teeing up the legislation to extend government funding by seven weeks for a vote later this week. Democrats are under immense pressure from their base to mount a resistance to the Hill GOP’s funding moves, and while party leaders have decided to rally around health care, they have not laid out specific demands except to demand Republicans negotiate.
In a separate statement, the two top Democratic appropriators, Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) and Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), said Tuesday that Republican leaders abandoned bipartisan talks on a spending stopgap that would include three full-year funding bills.
“We stand ready to continue down this path that would give us time to complete full-year bills, if Speaker [Mike] Johnson backs away from this partisan move,” Murray and DeLauro said Tuesday. “House Republican leadership has walked away from negotiations and are now threatening a shutdown by trying to jam through a funding bill on their terms alone.”
Johnson said on a brief interview Tuesday there was “no reason” for Democrats to block the stopgap “because it’s clean and short-term — it’s not a partisan exercise.”
Asked if Republicans would allow a shutdown if Senate Democrats block the measure, or if Republicans would then work on a backup plan to keep the government open, Johnson replied: “We’re gonna see what happens.”
Meredith Lee Hill and Katherine Tully-McManus contributed to this report.
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