Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., talks to reporters outside the West Wing of the White House on Sept. 29, 2025, in Washington, as House Speaker Mike Johnson of La., listens. (Alex Brandon/AP Photo)
"We didn't ask Democrats to swallow any new Republican policies. We didn't add partisan riders," Thune said. "We simply asked Democrats to extend existing funding levels to allow the Senate to continue the bipartisan appropriations work that we started."
"And Senate Democrats said no," he continued. "Why? Because far left interest groups and far left Democrat members wanted a showdown with the president. And so, Senate Democrats have sacrificed the American people to Democrats' partisan interests."
Republicans tried and failed to again advance their CR, which would have extended government funding until Nov. 21 with the main goal of giving lawmakers more time to pass the dozen spending bills needed to fund the government, a feat that hasn’t been accomplished since the 1990s.
HOUSE DEMOCRATS' GOVERNMENT FUNDING PROPOSAL GOES DOWN IN FLAMES WITH SHUTDOWN DEADLINE IN HOURS
President Donald Trump speaks to members of the media as he departs the White House Sept, 26, 2025 in Washington, D.C. Under pressure from Trump, the DOJ indicted former FBI Director James Comey on counts of making false statements and obstruction of a congressional proceeding related to the September 2020 Russia investigation. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images) (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
Meanwhile, Schumer signaled that he was not ready to budge from his position and instead pointed the finger at the GOP and President Donald Trump for "plunging America into a shutdown, rejecting bipartisan talks, pushing a partisan bill, and risking America's health care."
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Senate Democrats pushed for an extension to expiring Obamacare tax credits, among other things, that Republicans argued were not provisions that should be tacked onto a short-term funding extension.
Still, Schumer was resolute that Thune and the GOP needed to come to the negotiating table to solve that issue and craft a bipartisan CR.
"We hope they sit down with us and talk. Otherwise, it's the Republicans who will be driving us straight towards a shutdown tonight, and at midnight," Schumer said. "And the American people will blame them for bringing the federal government to a halt."
Alex Miller is a writer for Fox News Digital covering the U.S. Senate.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/dems-sacrificed-american-people-thune-says-government-barrels-toward-midnight-shutdown