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Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer

U.S. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) speaks at a press conference with other members of Senate Democratic leadership on March 4, 2025.

(Photo: Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Will Senate Democrats Cave to Trump and Musk by Helping GOP Pass Its Anti-Working Class Funding Bill?

Opposing the Republican president's lawless rampage against the federal government, a massive giveaway to billionaires, and vicious attacks on the working class "should be an open-and-shut case," said one commentator.

House Republicans on Tuesday pushed through a six-month government funding package with the help of just one Democrat—Rep. Jared Golden of Maine.

But Republicans in the Senate are going to need much more assistance from the minority party to pass the legislation, which would give the Trump administration and unelected billionaire Elon Muskfree rein to continue their assault on the nation's working class.

With Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) expected to break ranks and oppose the stopgap funding measure, the GOP will need the support of at least eight Democratic senators to get the bill to President Donald Trump's desk before the government shuts down on Friday at midnight.

Senate Democrats are publicly agonizing over their options, torn between effectively greenlighting the Trump administration's lawless rampage through federal agencies and allowing a painful government shutdown. The House skipped town following Tuesday's vote, meaning a shutdown is virtually guaranteed if the GOP funding bill goes down in the Senate.

The American Prospect's David Dayen argued Wednesday that opposing the bill "should be an open-and-shut case" for Democratic senators given the damage the measure itself would inflict—including $13 billion in cuts to non-military spending, from affordable housing to public health programs to IRS enforcement—as well as the green light it would give Trump and Musk to "continue to ignore Congress and toss out disfavored spending."

"In fact, the House Republican bill gives the president more leeway to move money around," Dayen observed. "It appropriates money for things that Musk has eliminated, meaning that money can operate as a floating slush fund for Trump's priorities, as long as the courts don't roll back the illegal impoundments."

"If you're a member of Congress, you're being told that your work product doesn't matter, that the constitutional power of the purse doesn't matter, and that there's no guarantee that anything you pass will actually reach the people you serve," he added. "Yet Senate Democrats, really the last line of defense against a unilateral government where all spending runs through Donald Trump, haven't committed to the simple proposition that any budgetary requirement they pass must actually be spent. If they can't stand for that, what can they stand for?"

"Who would that hurt the most? Working people. Billionaires win, families lose. Republicans' values are clear."

At least one Democrat, Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.), has pledged to support the Republican package, and other members of the caucus are on the fence.

"It's a very tough choice," said Sen. Angus King (D-Maine).

Politicoreported Wednesday that most of the 20 Democrats it surveyed shortly after the House vote "were noncommital" on the GOP bill, which would fund the government through September.

Some Democratic senators have unequivocally denounced the Republican funding stopgap, which comes in lieu of full-year, bipartisan appropriations bills that typically impose constraints on the executive branch.

"After months of bipartisan talks, they're walking away from the negotiating table and offering a non-starter House bill that forces us to the brink of a full government shutdown," Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) said of GOP lawmakers in a scathing floor speech on Tuesday. "And who would that hurt the most? Working people. Billionaires win, families lose. Republicans' values are clear."

"In addition to giving co-presidents Trump and Musk the power to spend taxpayer money wherever they want, the House Republicans also propose general cuts," said Warren. "Cuts from programs that help families put food on the table, afford child care, and keep our communities safe. Cuts from local communities for projects like improving hospitals, teaching facilities, and childcare centers—millions of funding that the House and Senate had already agreed to."

Kobie Christian, a spokesperson for the advocacy coalition Unrig Our Economy, echoed Warren, calling the House GOP bill "a fundamental betrayal of veterans, seniors, and working-class Americans nationwide."

"Why are Republicans pushing these drastic cuts and enabling Trump's costly tariffs that will make things worse for millions of Americans, including their own constituents? The answer is simple," said Christian. "This is just another step in congressional Republicans' plot to give billionaires a massive payday, while everyday Americans pay the price. Next week, Congress will head home for House recess and hear from their constituents who want their representatives to stand up against corporate interests, stop their pro-billionaire agenda, and fight for working people instead."

As an alternative to the Republican bill, the top Democratic appropriators in the House and Senate have put forth a short-term continuing resolution that would fund the government through April 11 and give lawmakers time to complete full-year spending negotiations.

There's no indication Republicans, who control both chambers of Congress, would be willing to support the alternative offered by Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) and Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.).

"Speaker Johnson's slush fund continuing resolution empowers President Trump and Elon Musk to pick winners and losers with taxpayer dollars, and make no mistake: it shortchanges families and includes painful funding cuts for bipartisan domestic priorities like cancer research, Army Corps projects, and much more," Murray and DeLauro warned.

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House Republicans on Tuesday pushed through a six-month government funding package with the help of just one Democrat—Rep. Jared Golden of Maine.

But Republicans in the Senate are going to need much more assistance from the minority party to pass the legislation, which would give the Trump administration and unelected billionaire Elon Muskfree rein to continue their assault on the nation's working class.

With Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) expected to break ranks and oppose the stopgap funding measure, the GOP will need the support of at least eight Democratic senators to get the bill to President Donald Trump's desk before the government shuts down on Friday at midnight.

Senate Democrats are publicly agonizing over their options, torn between effectively greenlighting the Trump administration's lawless rampage through federal agencies and allowing a painful government shutdown. The House skipped town following Tuesday's vote, meaning a shutdown is virtually guaranteed if the GOP funding bill goes down in the Senate.

The American Prospect's David Dayen argued Wednesday that opposing the bill "should be an open-and-shut case" for Democratic senators given the damage the measure itself would inflict—including $13 billion in cuts to non-military spending, from affordable housing to public health programs to IRS enforcement—as well as the green light it would give Trump and Musk to "continue to ignore Congress and toss out disfavored spending."

"In fact, the House Republican bill gives the president more leeway to move money around," Dayen observed. "It appropriates money for things that Musk has eliminated, meaning that money can operate as a floating slush fund for Trump's priorities, as long as the courts don't roll back the illegal impoundments."

"If you're a member of Congress, you're being told that your work product doesn't matter, that the constitutional power of the purse doesn't matter, and that there's no guarantee that anything you pass will actually reach the people you serve," he added. "Yet Senate Democrats, really the last line of defense against a unilateral government where all spending runs through Donald Trump, haven't committed to the simple proposition that any budgetary requirement they pass must actually be spent. If they can't stand for that, what can they stand for?"

"Who would that hurt the most? Working people. Billionaires win, families lose. Republicans' values are clear."

At least one Democrat, Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.), has pledged to support the Republican package, and other members of the caucus are on the fence.

"It's a very tough choice," said Sen. Angus King (D-Maine).

Politicoreported Wednesday that most of the 20 Democrats it surveyed shortly after the House vote "were noncommital" on the GOP bill, which would fund the government through September.

Some Democratic senators have unequivocally denounced the Republican funding stopgap, which comes in lieu of full-year, bipartisan appropriations bills that typically impose constraints on the executive branch.

"After months of bipartisan talks, they're walking away from the negotiating table and offering a non-starter House bill that forces us to the brink of a full government shutdown," Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) said of GOP lawmakers in a scathing floor speech on Tuesday. "And who would that hurt the most? Working people. Billionaires win, families lose. Republicans' values are clear."

"In addition to giving co-presidents Trump and Musk the power to spend taxpayer money wherever they want, the House Republicans also propose general cuts," said Warren. "Cuts from programs that help families put food on the table, afford child care, and keep our communities safe. Cuts from local communities for projects like improving hospitals, teaching facilities, and childcare centers—millions of funding that the House and Senate had already agreed to."

Kobie Christian, a spokesperson for the advocacy coalition Unrig Our Economy, echoed Warren, calling the House GOP bill "a fundamental betrayal of veterans, seniors, and working-class Americans nationwide."

"Why are Republicans pushing these drastic cuts and enabling Trump's costly tariffs that will make things worse for millions of Americans, including their own constituents? The answer is simple," said Christian. "This is just another step in congressional Republicans' plot to give billionaires a massive payday, while everyday Americans pay the price. Next week, Congress will head home for House recess and hear from their constituents who want their representatives to stand up against corporate interests, stop their pro-billionaire agenda, and fight for working people instead."

As an alternative to the Republican bill, the top Democratic appropriators in the House and Senate have put forth a short-term continuing resolution that would fund the government through April 11 and give lawmakers time to complete full-year spending negotiations.

There's no indication Republicans, who control both chambers of Congress, would be willing to support the alternative offered by Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) and Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.).

"Speaker Johnson's slush fund continuing resolution empowers President Trump and Elon Musk to pick winners and losers with taxpayer dollars, and make no mistake: it shortchanges families and includes painful funding cuts for bipartisan domestic priorities like cancer research, Army Corps projects, and much more," Murray and DeLauro warned.

House Republicans on Tuesday pushed through a six-month government funding package with the help of just one Democrat—Rep. Jared Golden of Maine.

But Republicans in the Senate are going to need much more assistance from the minority party to pass the legislation, which would give the Trump administration and unelected billionaire Elon Muskfree rein to continue their assault on the nation's working class.

With Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) expected to break ranks and oppose the stopgap funding measure, the GOP will need the support of at least eight Democratic senators to get the bill to President Donald Trump's desk before the government shuts down on Friday at midnight.

Senate Democrats are publicly agonizing over their options, torn between effectively greenlighting the Trump administration's lawless rampage through federal agencies and allowing a painful government shutdown. The House skipped town following Tuesday's vote, meaning a shutdown is virtually guaranteed if the GOP funding bill goes down in the Senate.

The American Prospect's David Dayen argued Wednesday that opposing the bill "should be an open-and-shut case" for Democratic senators given the damage the measure itself would inflict—including $13 billion in cuts to non-military spending, from affordable housing to public health programs to IRS enforcement—as well as the green light it would give Trump and Musk to "continue to ignore Congress and toss out disfavored spending."

"In fact, the House Republican bill gives the president more leeway to move money around," Dayen observed. "It appropriates money for things that Musk has eliminated, meaning that money can operate as a floating slush fund for Trump's priorities, as long as the courts don't roll back the illegal impoundments."

"If you're a member of Congress, you're being told that your work product doesn't matter, that the constitutional power of the purse doesn't matter, and that there's no guarantee that anything you pass will actually reach the people you serve," he added. "Yet Senate Democrats, really the last line of defense against a unilateral government where all spending runs through Donald Trump, haven't committed to the simple proposition that any budgetary requirement they pass must actually be spent. If they can't stand for that, what can they stand for?"

"Who would that hurt the most? Working people. Billionaires win, families lose. Republicans' values are clear."

At least one Democrat, Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.), has pledged to support the Republican package, and other members of the caucus are on the fence.

"It's a very tough choice," said Sen. Angus King (D-Maine).

Politicoreported Wednesday that most of the 20 Democrats it surveyed shortly after the House vote "were noncommital" on the GOP bill, which would fund the government through September.

Some Democratic senators have unequivocally denounced the Republican funding stopgap, which comes in lieu of full-year, bipartisan appropriations bills that typically impose constraints on the executive branch.

"After months of bipartisan talks, they're walking away from the negotiating table and offering a non-starter House bill that forces us to the brink of a full government shutdown," Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) said of GOP lawmakers in a scathing floor speech on Tuesday. "And who would that hurt the most? Working people. Billionaires win, families lose. Republicans' values are clear."

"In addition to giving co-presidents Trump and Musk the power to spend taxpayer money wherever they want, the House Republicans also propose general cuts," said Warren. "Cuts from programs that help families put food on the table, afford child care, and keep our communities safe. Cuts from local communities for projects like improving hospitals, teaching facilities, and childcare centers—millions of funding that the House and Senate had already agreed to."

Kobie Christian, a spokesperson for the advocacy coalition Unrig Our Economy, echoed Warren, calling the House GOP bill "a fundamental betrayal of veterans, seniors, and working-class Americans nationwide."

"Why are Republicans pushing these drastic cuts and enabling Trump's costly tariffs that will make things worse for millions of Americans, including their own constituents? The answer is simple," said Christian. "This is just another step in congressional Republicans' plot to give billionaires a massive payday, while everyday Americans pay the price. Next week, Congress will head home for House recess and hear from their constituents who want their representatives to stand up against corporate interests, stop their pro-billionaire agenda, and fight for working people instead."

As an alternative to the Republican bill, the top Democratic appropriators in the House and Senate have put forth a short-term continuing resolution that would fund the government through April 11 and give lawmakers time to complete full-year spending negotiations.

There's no indication Republicans, who control both chambers of Congress, would be willing to support the alternative offered by Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) and Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.).

"Speaker Johnson's slush fund continuing resolution empowers President Trump and Elon Musk to pick winners and losers with taxpayer dollars, and make no mistake: it shortchanges families and includes painful funding cuts for bipartisan domestic priorities like cancer research, Army Corps projects, and much more," Murray and DeLauro warned.

democratic partyrepublican partyus senate
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