Democrats have to decide Thursday whether voting in favor of advancing a full-year appropriations bill will weaken their negotiating position in the government shutdown.
Republicans are daring Democrats to oppose bipartisan legislation to fund the Department of Defense for fiscal 2026. Majority Leader John Thune told reporters he’s also hoping to tack on appropriations measures to fund the Departments of Labor and Health and Human Services.
Democrats have been clamoring for progress on “regular order” spending bills, but now they’re on the fence amid the larger partisan shutdown standoff. That includes Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Senate Appropriations Vice Chair Patty Murray (D-Wash.).
“We have to see what [Republicans] put on the floor,” Schumer told reporters. “They haven’t told us yet.”
Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) is one Democrat who could end up breaking rank: while she stopped short of saying how she would vote Thursday, she told reporters Wednesday she supports moving forward with the appropriations process amid the shutdown.
But Minority Whip Dick Durbin said Wednesday it would be a “long shot” for Democrats to shore up the necessary votes to break the Senate filibuster and advance the defense bill. Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) argued now is not the time for Democrats to give up leverage, as the party continues to push for an agreement to extend expiring Affordable Care Act subsidies to protect individuals from losing insurance amid steep insurance hikes.
“We are weeks away from people getting notified, if they haven’t been notified already, of skyrocketing health care costs,” Kelly said, referring to the Nov. 1 start date for widespread ACA open enrollment. “That should be the focus. Not a single defense appropriations bill.”
Many Democrats have a desire to reach a broader appropriations deal before playing ball on individual funding measures. They also want to know whether Republicans will consent to attaching the Labor-HHS appropriations bill to the Defense measure.
“What’s needed is a larger agreement about how the appropriations process is going to move forward so it’s clear that our priorities are respected,” Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) told reporters.
The showdown Thursday comes as senators are separately deliberating whether to kickstart the formal process of resolving differences with the House on the Senate-passed, three-bill “minibus” to fund the Departments of Agriculture and Veterans Affairs, the FDA and the operations of Congress.
Democrats are reluctant to move forward on that package for the same reasons they are wary about advancing the defense bill, while Republicans are also not united: Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) has been withholding support due to an outstanding provision regarding hemp, according to a Senate aide granted anonymity to disclose private discussions.
But Sen. John Hoeven (R-N.D.), who chairs the Agriculture-FDA appropriations subcommittee, projected confidence that Republicans could eventually shore up their ranks.
What else we’re watching:
— A new shutdown demand? Many Democrats want to make their votes to reopen the government contingent on an administration promise to rehire federal workers fired during the shutdown. However, Schumer hasn’t weighed in, and it could complicate the path out of the shutdown as Democrats navigate an already-intense battle over extending health insurance subsidies.
— Senate moves forward on judges: As the federal courts are poised to run out of money Friday, one key pillar of the Trump agenda is not on pause during the shutdown: expanding the president’s influence on the federal courts. Senate Judiciary is set to vote Thursday on two potential district court judges to fill vacancies in the Northern District of Mississippi, along with other U.S. attorney nominees.
Nicholas Wu, Mia McCarthy and Hailey Fuchs contributed to this report.
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