WASHINGTON — The Senate rejected competing measures on Friday to fund federal agencies for a few weeks when the new budget year begins on Oct. 1, increasing the prospects for a partial government shutdown on that date.
Leaders of the two parties sought to blame the other side for the standoff. Democrats accused Republicans of not negotiating with them to address some of their priorities on health care as part of the funding measure, even though they knew some Democratic votes would be needed to get a bill to the president’s desk.
Republicans said Democrats were making demands that would dramatically increase spending and were not germane to the core issue of keeping agencies fully running for a short period of time while negotiations continued on a full-year spending measure.
“I urge my colleagues to abandon this brinksmanship that does not serve the American people well … and adopt this straightforward bill sent to us by the House, which the president is willing to sign into law without any further delay and which will avoid a completely unnecessary and harmful shut down of government,” Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, said in a floor speech.
Collins, whose seat is a top Democratic target in the 2026 election, has cast blame on Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York for his role in the standoff, noting that funding bills from her appropriations committee were not brought up for votes when he led the chamber last year. Congress passed a stopgap in March that set aside a large share of earmarks for Maine.
The Schumer-led proposal would extend enhanced health insurance subsidies set to expire at the end of the year, plus reverse Medicaid cuts that were included in Republicans’ big tax breaks and spending cuts bill enacted earlier this year.
“The American people will look at what Republicans are doing, look at what Democrats are doing, and it will be clear that public sentiment will be on our side,” said Schumer, who has repeatedly threatened a shutdown if health care isn’t addressed.
Collins has said the credits should be extended but that there is time to do so after the government is funded. The Maine Democratic Party quickly criticized her vote on Friday afternoon, with a spokesperson saying she “fell in line” with President Donald Trump and Republicans.
The Senate action came after the House earlier in the day passed the Republican-led funding bill. The measure would extend government funding generally at current levels for seven weeks. The bill would also add about $88 million in security funding for lawmakers and members of the Supreme Court and executive branch in the wake of the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
Rep. Jared Golden of Maine’s 2nd District was the lone Democrat to support the bill in the lower chamber. Sen. Angus King, an independent who caucuses with Democrats, voted against it.
Trump had urged House Republicans to pass the bill and put the burden on Democrats to oppose it. GOP leaders often need Trump’s help to win over holdouts on legislation. The Senate moved quickly after the House vote to take up the measure plus the Democratic counter. Both fell short, and it’s now unclear how things will shake out.
Senators could then potentially leave town until Sept. 29, a day before the shutdown deadline. The Senate has a scheduled recess next week. Meanwhile, Johnson said Republicans were discussing whether to stay back in their home districts through the rest of September, essentially forcing the Senate to approve the House-passed measure or risk a shutdown.
Most Democrats appear to be backing Schumer’s demand that there be negotiations on the bill and support his threats of a shutdown, even as it is unclear how they would get out of it.
While the Democratic measure to fund the government had no chance of passage, it does give Democrats a way to show voters their focus on cutting health care costs. Unless Congress acts, tax credits going to low- and middle-income people who purchase health insurance through the Affordable Care Act will expire. That will mean a big increase in premiums for millions of Americans.
King told reporters in Washington that the issue “can’t be put off.” Collins noted the urgency of extending the credits by the end of the year in light of recently approved spikes in health insurance rates in Maine that averaged nearly 24% in the individual market.
Story by Kevin Freking. BDN writer Michael Shepherd and Associated Press writer Mary Clare Jalonick contributed to this report.
