Senate Democrats are blaming President Donald Trump for a possible government shutdown, as Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., pushes ahead with the House GOP's short-term government funding extension. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
It also comes as lawmakers gear up to leave Washington, D.C., for a week to observe the Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashanah. They’re expected to return with just two working days left before the deadline to fund the government on Sept. 30.
"The House has acted," said Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D. "The president's ready to sign the bill. We've got the appropriations committee and a lot of senators who are ready to go to work to pass bipartisan appropriations bills to fund the government by allowing these additional weeks into November. In order to do that, Democrats have to take ‘yes’ for an answer."
The CR would have kept the government open until Nov. 21, and it included tens of millions for increased security for lawmakers and the judicial and executive branches.
Senate Democrats have dug in against the GOP’s proposal, not so much because of what’s in the bill, but what’s not in it. They have also hung the possibility of a government shutdown on Trump, who demanded that Republicans cut Democrats out of the process.
Thune charged that if Democrats were "serious" about funding the government, they wouldn't have "put out the most partisan piece of legislation you possibly could."
"I mean, it's kind of mind-boggling," he said.
THUNE PANS DEMOCRATS' SHUTDOWN STANCE AS 'BORDERLINE PATHOLOGICAL,' 'LIKE A DISEASE'
President Donald Trump arrives on Air Force One at LaGuardia Airport, on Thursday, Sept. 11, 2025, in New York. (Alex Brandon/AP Photo)
Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso, R-Wyo., told Fox News Digital that the legislation was a "Trojan horse by the Democrats."
"It's to me, it's a preview of what they're going to want to do," he said.
"Schumer has to play to the far-left fringe that is actually running the Democrat Party right now," Barrasso continued.
Senate Democrats are adamant that the Obamacare credits, in particular, need to be dealt with now rather than near the deadline. Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., told Fox News Digital that lawmakers "have to do it now."
"All the [insurance rate] notices go out Oct. 1, so you have to have it now," Peters said.
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However, Republicans argue that including an extension to the tax credits to a short-term extension isn’t germane to the bill, especially one geared toward trying to give Congress time to fund the government with spending bills. And Thune has said that the credits would be "addressed" after a shutdown was averted.
But for now, the issue at hand still boils down to communication between Thune and Schumer.
"I mean, these are the leaders of the U.S. Senate," Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., said. "I expect them to step up. And if one's not actually reaching out, the other one should at least demonstrate that they are — they're trying to negotiate in good faith. If they don't, then they get what they get."
Alex Miller is a writer for Fox News Digital covering the U.S. Senate.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-approved-plan-avert-government-shutdown-scuttled-senate