Top Democratic appropriators said on Friday that President Donald Trump’s decision to abandon bipartisan spending talks and endorse a long-term funding patch is “raising the risk of a shutdown.”
Speaking two weeks before the March 14 funding deadline, Washington Sen. Patty Murray and Connecticut Rep. Rosa DeLauro said in a joint statement that Republican leaders were “walking away” from negotiations aimed at cementing new government spending levels.
Those talks are now in question as Trump endorses a plan that would keep federal agencies on autopilot budgets through September and Republican leaders consider including funding cuts to bolster Elon Musk’s efforts to gut federal programs through the Department of Government Efficiency.
Trump said he wanted a “clean, temporary government funding Bill” through the end of fiscal 2025, but it is unclear what exactly “clean” might mean. Some Republicans want Musk’s cuts reflected in any new bill, while Democrats want guardrails written in to prevent further slashing. Disaster aid, including for the recent California wildfires, is also at issue ahead of the deadline.
“Republican leadership’s plan to pass a full-year continuing resolution with Musk’s devastating ‘DOGE cuts’ would give Trump new flexibility to spend funding as he sees fit,” the Democrats said in their statement, noting that Musk has advocated for a government shutdown.
Murray and DeLauro said they “remain ready” to negotiate a bipartisan deal to fund the government with updated budgets and “hope Republicans will return to the table to do just that.”
