Tag Archive for: Senate Democrats

Eight Senate Democratic Caucus Members Defy Chuck Schumer To Advance Deal That Would End Shutdown

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Forty days into the longest government shutdown in history, eight members of the Senate Democratic Caucus bucked Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer to support a deal that will end the government shutdown.

Lawmakers voted 60 to 40 to advance a House-passed clean continuing resolution (CR) Sunday night that had previously failed to clear the Senate’s 60-vote threshold 14 times. Though the deal marks a crucial breakthrough to reopen the government, the process is expected to take several days due to likely opposition from a number of senators to expedite a vote on final passage.

Any agreement will also have to clear the House of Representatives, which has been in recess since Sept. 19.

Democratic Sens. Tim Kaine of Virginia, Jeanne Shaheen and Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire and Jacky Rosen of Nevada flipped their votes to support the House-passed CR. Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin of Illinois, the second-ranking Democrat who is not running for reelection, also supported the measure.

The five Democrats joined their fellow caucus members, Democratic Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, Democratic Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada and Independent Sen. Angus King of Maine, who repeatedly voted with Republicans to fund the government throughout the record-breaking shutdown fight.

Georgia Sen. Jon Ossoff, who is widely viewed as the most vulnerable Democratic incumbent running for reelection in 2026, voted with Schumer to oppose the shutdown deal.

In the coming days, Senate Majority Leader John Thune is expected to offer a substitute to the House-passed continuing resolution that would include the prongs of the bipartisan framework.

The deal extends government funding levels through the end of January 2026, advances three full-year appropriations bills and funds a federal food aid program through fiscal year 2026. The agreement also reverses the mass layoffs of federal workers implemented by the Trump administration during the shutdown.

King, Hassan and Shaheen were reportedly responsible for negotiating the bipartisan deal with Republicans to bring an end to the 40-day funding lapse.

The breakthrough comes after Thune kept the Senate in session over the weekend in an effort to hasten an end to the shutdown. The funding lapse forced a vast swath of federal employees to miss paychecks, threatened millions of Americans’ access to food stamps and disrupted air travel in major hubs across the country.

King, who caucuses with Democrats, told reporters prior to the vote that the “length of the shutdown” led the group of Democrats to support the shutdown deal. The Maine Independent also said Republicans’ refusal to negotiate on extending enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies slated to expire at the end of December while the government was shut down also forced Democrats’ hands.

“The question was, as the shutdown progresses, is a solution on the ACA [Affordable Care Act] becoming more likely? It appears not,” King told reporters. “And I think people are saying we’re not going to get what we want, although we still have a chance, because part of the deal is a vote on the ACA subsidies.”

Many of King’s Democrat colleagues railed against the bipartisan agreement, arguing the legislation was inadequate because it failed to guarantee an extension of the ACA subsidies.

“I cannot in good faith vote for a show vote that does nothing to guarantee that 24 million Americans get the health care they deserve,” Arizona Sen. Ruben Gallego, a potential 2028 presidential candidate, wrote on X.

“[V]oting for Trump’s continuing resolution – without any protection against his health care cuts or his growing illegality – is a mistake,” Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy, another Democrat who could make a run for president in 2028, wrote on X. “I voted NO.”

The Democratic National Committee, left-wing activist organizations and a large chunk of House Democrats, including Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, voiced their opposition to the deal Sunday evening. Democratic candidates running for Senate during next year’s midterm elections and rumored 2028 presidential candidates also came out against the deal, citing its insufficient language on health care.

Thune has offered Democrats a vote on extending the ACA subsidies as part of the shutdown deal. However, the vote is likely to fail due to deep opposition among Republicans to an ACA subsidy extension without significant reform.

Republicans are not about to further burden taxpayers by blindly extending a flawed program,” Thune said on the Senate floor Saturday.

House GOP leadership will give lawmakers 36 hours notice to return to Washington upon the Senate passing a stopgap bill to reopen the government.

AUTHOR

Adam Pack

Reporter

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All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.

ROOKE: Democrats’ Grip On Bargaining Power Dramatically Loosens As End Of Schumer Shutdown Looms

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Outwardly, Democrats claim their resolve to keep the government shutdown has never been stronger. However, cracks are beginning to form within the party, signaling that the shutdown might end soon.

When Democrats initially voted against the Republican House-passed clean continuing resolution (CR), voters in large margins blamed Republicans. This is likely due to a lack of knowledge about how many votes it takes to pass a CR after the Democrats invoked a filibuster on the bill. Without a filibuster motion, Senate Republicans needed a simple majority to pass the CR with 100 senators, so 51 votes. However, now that Democrats have invoked the filibuster, Senate Republicans need 60 votes (three-fifths of the 100 senators) to invoke cloture and end debate, after which a simple majority is still required for final passage.

Republicans hold a slim 53-seat majority in the Senate, enough to pass the CR without a filibuster, but not enough to pass the motion. As it stands, Republicans need seven Democrats to cross the aisle to invoke cloture and end the debate.

Democrats used this sneaky trick, with help from the media running cover, to push the blame onto Republicans and President Donald Trump. Their argument was simple: Republicans control both chambers of Congress plus the White House; therefore, the shutdown rests solely on their shoulders. For a while, their strategy has worked. Polling in early October showed a majority of Americans blamed Republicans for the shutdown. However, the longer the shutdown lasts, the worse it’s getting for Democrats.

While polling shows the Congressional Republicans are still shouldering the majority of the blame, approval ratings for Trump and both parties highlight the need for Democrats to quit stalling and pass the CR.

The most recent Quinnipiac University poll, conducted October 16-20, showed 40 percent of registered voters approved of Trump’s job as president, slightly up from Quinnipiac’s September polling, when 38 percent said the same.

When asked about Republicans, 35 percent gave them positive marks for their job performance, while 59 percent disapproved of Congressional Republicans. Compared to that, just 26 percent of registered voters approved of Congressional Democrats, while 67 percent told the survey they disapproved. Both Democrats and Republicans are up from Quinnipiac’s July 16 poll, where voters gave Democrats a 19 percent approval rating and Republicans a 33 percent approval rating.

Democrats are reportedly talking among themselves about the need to end the stalemate. Former Democratic strategist Dan Turrentine claimed Tuesday that Capitol Hill Democrats have texted him that the shutdown will end soon.

“Even texting with people on Capitol Hill here on the Democratic side, they know that this cannot go on too much longer,” Turrentine said on “The Morning Meeting” show. “There’s no talk of, ‘Yeah, we’ll do this through Thanksgiving.’”

“They’re like, ‘Yeah, we know this is going to have to end pretty soon.’ Again, the question is: who blinks?” he added. “And I do continue to think that by the end of next week, that middle part of the Democratic Party is going to start talking about, ‘How do we get out of this?’”

And while Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries insist that their members will not be voting to pass the CR until Republicans fill the clean CR with their demands, the list of Democrats crossing the aisle to join Republicans ticked up Thursday.

Initially, just two Democratic senators, Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada and John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, had joined Republicans to pass the CR. On Thursday, two more Democratic senators, Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock, both from Georgia, voted with Republicans to end the government shutdown. However, Republicans lost Cortez Masto on the last vote, with her rejoining the Democratic side to keep the government shutdown.

Republicans have 55 votes (53 Republican senators and 3 Democratic senators) in favor of opening the federal government. The party needs just five more votes to invoke cloture and end the debate, thus allowing a simple majority vote to end the shutdown.

And while Democrats continue to keep the government closed, regular Americans and essential federal workers are going without the assistance or pay they need. It seems for the time being, Democrats are fine using their pain as leverage in order to score political points.

AUTHOR

Mary Rooke

Commentary and Analysis Writer. Follow Mary Rooke on X: @MaryRooke

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EDITORS NOTE: This Daily Caller column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

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ROOKE: Trump Scores Major Optics Win In Schumer Shutdown Battle

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President Donald Trump has found a way to fund federal programs, despite Senate Democrats — led by Minority Leader Chuck Schumer — keeping the government shut down.

On Monday, the Trump administration funded the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) during what Republicans have rightly dubbed the “Schumer Shutdown,” by redirecting revenue generated from Trump’s tariffs on imported goods. The White House announced the move as a temporary stopgap measure to prevent immediate disruptions to the nearly 7 million low-income pregnant women, new mothers, infants, and young children up to age five, who rely on the program for nutritional assistance, breastfeeding support, and other related services.

While Trump hasn’t been able to secure funding for essential federal employees, such as U.S. military members, the Secret Service, and air traffic controllers, they haven’t missed a paycheck yet. However, the deadline for that, Oct. 15, is coming up quickly. And, yes, most of these employees will receive back pay for any missed pay periods, but that doesn’t mean that they’ll be able to survive without some loan assistance.

Democrats have a decision to make about whether their radical left policies are worth continuing the government shutdown or if they’ll do the right thing and vote for the House-passed continuing resolution (CR). Recent polling indicates they are losing the narrative battle on this issue. Almost half (40 percent) of Democrats think their party’s positions are not worth shutting down the government, leaving essential workers and programs unfunded, according to CBS News. Only 28 percent agree with Senate Democrats in holding the funding hostage.

It begs the question of why Democrats believe it’s politically expedient to keep this fight going when a majority of their base wants them to capitulate to Republicans. Especially taking into account that Democrats essentially lost the 2024 election because elected members chose to embrace the radical left wing of their party, sending many independents who would have otherwise voted blue into the ballot box to support Republicans. How are Democrats expecting to bring these voters back if they are choosing to fund healthcare for illegal immigrants over paying U.S. military members and funding programs like WIC?

And while Republicans are fighting a similar internal struggle, with a majority of voters begging for the shutdown to end, the optics that Trump has been able to create by using tariff revenue to fund WIC is a masterclass in garnering political capital. Here, he addresses an issue (tariffs) that, while successful, hasn’t made a significant difference in solving kitchen-table issues and directly links it to being able to keep mothers and infants fed.

Trump has taken away a major weapon in the Democrats’ political arsenal by serving the most vulnerable in our country despite the Democrat led shutdown. If Republicans were smart, they’d bring these mothers on media hits with them to explain what this funding means to their families, similar to how Trump gave a mic to mothers who lost children to violent illegal immigrants. Then, to drive home the narrative, remind the American people that while our military members are faithfully serving overseas, their wives with small children are suffering due to Democrats refusing to fund the government.

Trump, more than any politician in our lifetime, understands the importance of controlling the optics in winning the narrative war. His move to fund WIC with tariff revenue killed two birds with one stone. It made Democrats politically vulnerable on a critical issue, while also protecting vulnerable mothers and their children.

AUTHOR

Mary Rooke

Commentary and Analysis Writer. Follow Mary Rooke on X: @MaryRooke. Sign up for Mary Rooke’s weekly newsletter here!

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EDITORS NOTE: This Daily Caller column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

Trump Gives Democrats Deadline For When Permanent Government Firings Will Begin

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President Donald Trump gave Democrats a deadline for when he would start making cuts to federal workers and other federal programs.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and the majority of his caucus again rejected a continuing resolution Monday, extending the government shutdown. Trump, who’s administration previously teased mass firings as a result of the shutdown, told reporters Tuesday that such could happen if the government shutdown continues for four to five days.

“How many permanent jobs are you talking about eliminating?” a reporter asked Trump.

“I’ll be able to tell you that in four or five days. If this keeps going on, it’ll be substantial, and a lot of those jobs will never come back,” Trump responded. “You’re going to have a lot closer to a balanced budget.”

The reporter also asked Trump if he had identified any programs he wanted to eliminate during the shutdown.

“Oh, sure. We have a lot, I’m not going to tell you, but we’ll be announcing it pretty soon. But we have a lot of things that we’re going to eliminate and permanently eliminate,” Trump said.

“You know, one of the things that we have as some advantage, you could say, but because of the shutdown, which I think they made a big mistake, we’re able to take out billions and billions of dollars of waste, fraud and abuse, and they’ve handed it, you know, to us on a silver platter,” the president continued.

Trump then told reporters he has been getting calls from Democrats who want to meet with him and are claiming to be the leader of the party. Some of the names he has never heard of, he said.

The shutdown battle has focused on healthcare, with Democrats demanding increased funding for Medicaid, such as reimbursements for state spending on illegal aliens, and Affordable Care Act subsidies.

Last week, Trump and his Office of Management and Budget Director met to discuss potential layoffs. Afterwards, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told the Daily Caller that layoffs were “imminent,” though none have occurred since.

“Unfortunately, because the Democrats shut down the government, the president has directed his cabinet and the Office of Management and Budget is working with agencies across the board to identify where cuts can be made and we believe that layoffs are imminent,” Leavitt said.

AUTHOR

Reagan Reese

White House Correspondent

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Senate Democrats Naked Agression

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I hope you had the opportunity to see the Senate Finance Committee’s hearing with Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.? I found it quite fascinating to see Democrat training and rhetoric exposed and right out of the Democrat playbook in full action and display.

It didn’t matter what Kennedy said, the Democrat Senators talked over him. They stuck to their talking points regardless of the truth. My whole take away from that hearing was Kennedy’s comment stating that most of those senators have been in office for over 20 years and most of them take money from Big Pharma. Liz Warren took $800,000+. Bernie Sanders said everyone took donations. So are they all corrupt? My answer would be “YES!” Most of the Senators never paid attention to the fact that our kids are getting sicker and autism is on the rise. As of today, 76% of the American public has some kind of chronic disease. Why, over 20 years, was this not ever noticed or cured?

The Bottom Line: Big Pharma is raking in the cash. But aside from that, you should really watch the hearing so you can see the way Democrats work and think! Notice how RFK Jr. did not lose his cool, yell or do anything except ask them questions and present facts. Many of the Senators were out to lunch and not bothering to listen because they had their questions and comments scripted for them. They weren’t interested in RFK Jr.’s answers. Their real goal was to have RFK Jr. RESIGN. Fortunately for us, that’s not going to happen. Check out the hearing:

WATCH: Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. testifies before the Senate Committee

I want to thank Dr. Ladapo and Governor DeSantis for eliminating the vaccine mandates for children in the State of Florida. I do not believe there is a good reason for children to get half of the vaccines that they get but isn’t that the decision of the parents. I am not a doctor, however, my question is why are they giving the children so many drugs. What’s the purpose? What’s the point? Could the point be to create more children who are mentally imbalanced, require drugs for life, then become adults with mental issues who may someday pick up a gun and shoot a lot of people?

On a side note, we must constantly look out for the weaponizing of the government, even in a “Red” State. Those of you that are living in Florida or plan on moving to Florida or follow and compare Florida’s rules and regulations with things going on in your state, you must pay attention very carefully to the laws passed in your state.

Florida SB 180 which has the words “Prohibiting certain local governments from adopting ordinances for…” It is becoming more and more obvious that the state government is trying to eliminate local control. In this case, the DOGE audit is being used. DOGE audit makes Manatee County a test case for defying DeSantis and developers.

©2025 . All rights reserved.

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Now, more than ever, it is so important that we vet our candidates and vote in the primary. The DEMS and RINOs have made it perfectly clear, they want it all and will stop at nothing in order to accomplish their goal.

In Segment 1 of the show, Sally and I will discuss the importance of local politics and the “Live Local Act” aka the Land Grab Act, as I call it. In the second segment, I was a guest on the Barry Foster Podcast. I am sharing my interview. Hope you like it. It is great to be on the other side of the desk.

Great news on the Public School Front. The Communist indoctrination clinic is scheduled to lose about 70,000 students. This means they are losing money. If they lose enough money, eventually they will have to listen. I have a great freebie for you and your children … a booklet about indoctrination in our schools and how we can help our kids think on their own!

Get your kids out of the indoctrination clinics masquerading as public schools. Create a MICROSCHOOL

Everything is connected. Nothing is random. Everything has a plan. All plans are lies. All Globalists want is MONEY, POWER, CONTROL. Don’t give them yours. Challenge them with the truth. Is America worth saving? Doing Nothing is affirmation.

Applying Knowledge is Power

GUEST: Sally Baptiste

GUEST: Barry Foster, Karen Schoen

WEBSITE: https://thebarryfostershow.net/ , karenbschoen.com

TELL EVERYONE YOU KNOW TO VOTE IN THE PRIMARY!!

IS AMERICA WORTH SAVING?

IF NOT YOU, THEN WHO?

IF NOT NOW, THEN WHEN?

Get involved:

• Can you call your congressman while they are home? Will you tell them to stop the expensive, inefficient solar panels? Stop giving money to China. No more solar farms.
• Can you tell them to uphold the Rule of Law? Can you tell them to uphold their Sworn Vows of their Office?

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ROOKE: Democrats Seem To Be Setting Themselves Up For More Chaos And Division

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President Donald Trump and Republicans could have a short-lived victory in passing their One Big Beautiful Bill. In just ten weeks, Republicans will face another funding battle to avoid a government shutdown. But, fortunately for them, Democrats are still undecided on how to respond.

There are open discussions about Democrats’ limited options when fighting against Republicans, Politico reported Monday. Rather than come up with a plan to find leverage to get what they want, Democrats, such as Hawaii Sen. Brian Schatz, blame Republicans for following Trump’s lead and complain that Republicans are unwilling to include Democrats in the budget decision-making process.

“They’re just throwing stuff against the wall because they’re losing this fight,” Republican Texas Rep. Chip Roy told Politico.

Democrats don’t seem to understand why they were defeated in November or how to gain back voter confidence in the new Trump era. While Democrats are “furious with the Trump administration and their Republican counterparts for undercutting government funding negotiations,” there is no “unified strategy” in place for the next major funding bill, set to be voted on before the government shutdown Oct. 1, according to Politico.

“To be blunt, I don’t think there’s one tactic or approach that is going to solve this from any individual Democrat,” Schatz told the outlet. “The Republicans have to decide whether they want to be totally lobotomized or not.”

Democratic Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer attempted to work with Republicans on Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill, but received significant pushback from his fellow party members.

“‘He’s done a great deal of damage to the party,’ said Ezra Levin, co-founder of the liberal group Indivisible, which has scheduled an emergency call with its New York chapter and other local leaders to “seriously consider if the current [Democratic] leadership is equipped to handle the moment we’re in,’” Politico reported.

This puts any Democrat looking to side with Republicans in a terrible position. If they cross the aisle, they risk the Schumer treatment, but if they don’t, they get blamed for shutting down the federal government and all that entails.

Of course, Republicans have a few stragglers who seem to sympathize with the Democratic Party’s position against slashing funding for abortion and DEI hiring practices for the federal government.

Republican Sens. Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski were the lone two votes against Trump’s $9 billion rescissions package, which ended funding for some of the establishment’s favorite projects, including foreign aid, PBS, and NPR. As Appropriations Committee chair, Collins told her fellow members that countering Trump and his White House budget chief, Russ Vought, is “to continue to work in a bipartisan way.”

One faction of the Democratic Party aims to persuade more Republicans to join their side during these budget negotiations. The other seems to think the only way to stop the “Trump train” is to derail it using their favorite weapon: lawfare.

Connecticut Rep. Rosa DeLauro, the House’s top-ranking Democrat appropriator, appears to strike a balance between both sides. She told reporters that Democrats need “to make sure that there are several others on the other side of the aisle who have the stomach and the strength and the spine to stand up” to Trump and Republicans. Still, she added that her party needs to boost the number of lawsuits against the Trump administration.

Democrats have one major card in their pocket to play before it is all over. With their slim majority in both chambers of Congress, Republicans need Democratic votes to pass their budget bill and avoid a government shutdown. However, despite that obvious strategy, Democrats have been reluctant to use it against Republicans.

I guess they realize that some money is better than no money.

Democrats are increasingly becoming a neutered party with no real message to win, except that “Trump is bad.” But outside of its hardcore base, the rest of American voters are looking for someone who will answer questions on how to fix the issues that directly affect them, like the economy and illegal immigration.

Democrats are so far unable to determine the path to victory in the new Trump era, let alone take any action to help Americans, leaving them in a difficult position as they enter what will be a challenging midterm battle against a more unified Republican opponent.

AUTHOR

Mary Rooke

Commentary and Analysis Writer. Follow Mary Rooke on X: @MaryRooke

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Chuck Schumer Lays Groundwork For Government Shutdown

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Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer is signaling he could plunge the country into a partial government shutdown if Republicans move forward with rescinding just a fraction of a percent of government spending.

The Senate is expected to vote on a request from the White House to claw back $1.1 billion in public broadcasting funding and $8.3 billion in foreign aid next week. Schumer has threatened that Democrats will reject a government funding deal for the upcoming fiscal year if Republicans pass President Donald Trump’s $9.4 billion rescission package, which could trigger a partial government shutdown at the end of September.

“Ask the Republicans why they are heading on this path,” Schumer said at a Senate Democratic leadership press conference Wednesday in response to a question citing his previous warnings about the alleged harmful effects of letting government funding lapse. “We are doing everything we can to keep the bipartisan appropriations process going. And they’re undermining it with rescissions, with pocket rescissions, with impoundment and every other way.”

Schumer’s implicit shutdown threat is a noticeable departure from his decision to avert a lapse in government funding in March by supplying the votes to pass a Trump-backed stopgap spending bill. The Democratic leader’s decision to avoid a government shutdown earlier in the year infuriated the party’s base, leading Schumer to postpone a scheduled book tour. Elected Democrats across the country criticized his leadership.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune criticized Schumer’s recent remarks appearing to use the rescissions package as leverage in the anticipated government funding showdown later this year. Schumer wrote a “Dear Colleague” letter Tuesday warning of “consequences that will be felt far beyond the halls of power” if Republicans claw back funding for public broadcasting and foreign aid.

“I was disappointed to see the Democrat leader … implicitly threaten to shut down the government,” Thune said on the Senate floor Wednesday. “But I’m hopeful that that is not the position of the Democrat Party, the Democrat conference here in the Senate, and that we can work together in the coming weeks to pass bipartisan appropriations bills.”

“Funding the government is our chief priority before October, but that won’t stop us from considering additional measures,” Thune said, in an implicit reference to the rescissions package.

Thune is up against a July 18 deadline to pass the rescissions package, which is subject to a simple majority vote. Failure to approve the clawback request by that timeline would force the president to spend the money as originally directed by lawmakers.

The House cleared the clawback measure 214 to 212 in June with four GOP lawmakers joining Democrats in opposing the rescissions package.

Though several moderate Senate Republicans have voiced concerns about rescinding some of the proposed DOGE cuts, some in the conference are warning that failure is not an option and that Senate Republicans must meet the July 18 deadline. The $9.4 billion rescissions request would be the first DOGE cuts codified by Congress out of the roughly $175 billion identified by the president’s cost-cutting commission.

“I think if the Republicans in the United States Senate do not pass the rescission package, after all the rhetoric about reducing spending, then they should hide their head in the bag,” Republican Louisiana Sen. John Kennedy told reporters Tuesday. “And I think the White House will provide the bag.”

AUTHOR

Adam Pack

Reporter

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EDITORS NOTE: This Daily Caller column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.

GOP Effort To Strip Illegal Immigrants Of Taxpayer-Funded Benefits Fails In Senate

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Senate Democrats moved to block Republican efforts Monday evening to strip illegal immigrants of taxpayer-funded benefits within President Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful” bill.

The Senate voted 56 to 44 on an amendment from Republican Texas Sen. John Cornyn that would have reduced federal Medicaid payments to states who offer health care to illegal immigrants charged or convicted of serious crimes. Though four Senate Democrats bucked their party to back the measure, the amendment failed to clear a 60-vote threshold and will therefore not be included in the president’s sweeping tax and immigration-focused bill.

“[Forty-three] Democrats just BLOCKED my amendment to punish states that give Medicaid benefits to illegal aliens convicted or charged with crimes like murder or sex trafficking,” Cornyn wrote in a statement on the social media platform X following the failed vote. “Democrats chose to side with the worst of the worst in our society over our seniors and most vulnerable American citizens. Disgusting.”

Senators are currently engaged in a marathon session of voting, known as a “vote-a-rama,” to shape the final bill through amendments before a vote on final passage.

The four Senate Democrats who crossed the political aisle to back the measure include Sens. Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire, Catherine Cortez-Masto of Nevada and Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff of Georgia. Ossoff is widely viewed as the most vulnerable Democratic senator running for reelection, though the Georgia Republicans have yet to unite around a challenger.

Republican Maine Sen. Susan Collins, a skeptic of some of the bill’s reforms to Medicaid, joined Democrats in voting “no” on Cornyn’s amendment.

Cornyn, who is seeking a fifth Senate term, is in the middle of a contentious reelection fight against Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton for the 2026 GOP nomination.

The incumbent senator introduced the amendment following Senate Parliamentarian Elizabeth MacDonough’s determination that the provision violated the upper chamber’s so-called budget reconciliation rules. Cornyn said Thursday that he would not let a “unelected Senate staffer” stop Republicans from passing Trump’s policy priorities into law.

Republicans are using the so-called budget reconciliation process to steer around Democratic opposition and clear the president’s domestic policy bill by a simply majority vote.

Provisions that MacDonough strikes from the bill would be subject to a 60-vote threshold and would need some Democratic buy-in to pass.

Senate Democrats, led by Oregon Sen. Jeff Merkley, the top Democrat on the upper chamber’s budget panel, argued Cornyn’s amendment would lead to “the collective punishment of American citizens” by reducing federal Medicaid funding to Medicaid expansion states who provide coverage to illegal immigrants.

This is a backdoor [elimination] for 41 states, which includes the majority of Republican states, to reduce the federal match from 90% to 80% with huge, huge impact on the coverage of individuals across this country,” Merkley said on the Senate floor Monday.

“What happened to states’ rights,” Merkley continued in defense of blue states offering free healthcare to illegal immigrants.

Senate Democrats also blocked an amendment Monday offered by Republican Tennessee Sen. Marsha Blackburn that would have barred illegal immigrants from receiving coverage through state-funded Medicaid programs.

The Senate version of the president’s landmark bill could pass the upper chamber as early as Monday. Trump is demanding the legislation on his desk for signature by his self-imposed deadline of July 4.

AUTHOR

Adam Pack

Congressional Reporter.

RELATED ARTICLE: ‘Next’: Schumer Dodges Simple Question About Medicaid For Illegal Immigrants

EDITORS NOTE: This Daily Caller column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.

Senate Rejects Dem Effort Defending Illegal Migrant Criminals

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The Senate on Thursday afternoon voted down a resolution from Senate Democrats to require President Donald Trump’s State Department to write a report on El Salvador’s human rights practices — in light of the administration’s deportation of illegal migrant criminals.

Senators voted along party lines — 50 to 45 — to reject the motion to discharge the resolution, led by Democratic Sens. Tim Kaine of Virginia, Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, Alex Padilla of California and Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, from the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Senate Republicans sharply criticized the effort as “pure political theater” and another example of their Democratic colleagues defending illegal migrant criminals and obstructing the president’s deportation agenda.

The resolution also required the State Department to report any steps the administration is taking to comply with a court order to “facilitate” the return of reputed MS-13 gangbanger and human trafficker, Kilmar Abrego Garcia. The El Salvadoran national has been named in two domestic abuse cases against his wife and has been accused of trafficking illegal migrants across state lines.

Van Hollen referred to Abrego Garcia as his “constituent” on the Senate floor Thursday prior to the vote. Van Hollen was the first Democratic lawmaker to travel to El Salvador in April to protest his deportation and advocate for his return to the United States.

“I have made very clear from the start that I’m not vouching for Kilmar Abrego Garcia,” Van Hollen said Thursday. “I am vouching for his rights, because if you deny his rights, you put in jeopardy the rights of everybody who resides in the United States of America.”

Senate Republicans torched Democrats for forcing a vote on the resolution.

“Senator Van Hollen says he does not ‘vouch’ for Garcia, yet he’s one of many Democrats who visited Garcia in El Salvador,” Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso during a speech on the Senate floor Tuesday. “What they’re proposing is to shield illegal immigrant criminals from deportation and help them evade arrest.”

“This [Kilmar Abrego Garcia] is who Democrats are defending – not just that one individual, but that whole style of behavior that has now impacted every community in America,” Barrasso continued.

“I’m frustrated why we have to have extensive due process for folks who ignore due process to come here,” Republican Montana Sen. Tim Sheehy told the Daily Caller News Foundation Tuesday. “This is a very curious turn of constitutionality from folks who had no concern about the constitutionality of millions of people coming here illegally.”

Senate Republicans also noted that their Democratic colleagues have largely rejected efforts to crack down on illegal immigration in the 119th Congress.

Just 12 Senate Democrats voted for the Laken Riley Act, the first piece of legislation Trump signed into law during his second term. The law requires the detention of illegal migrants accused, charged or convicted of an array of criminal offenses.

Similarly, no Senate Democrats in April supported Republicans’ budget resolution unlocking historic amounts of funding to fast-track the president’s deportation agenda.

“What they should be doing is taking their energy to work with us to improve the economy, to make the country safer, to reduce government spending — that’s what they should be doing,” Republican Ohio Sen. Bernie Moreno told the DCNF. “This stuff is just total nonsense.”

AUTHOR

Adam Pack

Contributor.

RELATED ARTICLES:

‘This Is Unbelievable’: Kristi Noem Turns Tables On Eric Swalwell As He Jumps To Abrego Garcia’s Defense

China, Cartels, And Cash: How Chinese Operatives Are Laundering Mexican Drug Money In Broad Daylight

RELATED VIDEOS:

WATCH: Body cam footage of DeMS13’s Kilmar Abrego Garcia caught human trafficking in 2022

Three Criminal Illegal Aliens take life of 47-year-old Aleksandre Modebadze in Los Angeles

California Democrats blocked push to make it an automatic felony to buy 16 year olds for sex

EDITORS NOTE: This Daily Caller column is republished with permission. ©All rights reserved.

All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.