Photo: Alamy | Analysis by Summer Lane
President Donald Trump has strongly urged Republicans in Congress to support the proposed continuing resolution that passed the House and is soon headed to a vote on the Senate floor, warning that a government shutdown would hurt the momentum his administration has amassed and continues to gain.
The stopgap legislation would keep the federal government operating, which is something President Trump seems to feel is necessary to continue to make progress on his America First agenda.
“If they do a shutdown…ultimately that might lead to very, very high taxes,” President Trump explained Thursday while chatting with reporters in the Oval Office.
He expressed his wishes that Congress keep the government open so they could pass new tax cuts and renew the standing Trump Tax Cuts. “We’re providing the greatest package of benefits this country’s ever provided,” he said.
Trump strongly reiterated his desire to cut taxes substantially for the middle class and businesses across the country – none of which can happen if the federal machine grinds to a halt.
“If it shuts down, it’s only because of the Democrats,” he said.
Republicans in the Senate are working hard to pressure Democrats to support the bill. Ahead of a vote on the legislation, the term “Schumer Shutdown” has been bandied about by members of the GOP who want to put the blame for a potential future shutdown on Democrats’ unwillingness to unify with the president’s agenda.
“If they want to shut it down, it’s on them – that’ll be a Schumer Shutdown,” said Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., according to Fox News.
He was referring to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s, D-N.Y., opposition to the bill.
As reported by RSBN, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., criticized Democrats for opposing the CR, despite their history of supporting similar bills in the past.
“Democrats have railed against government shutdowns. But now they’re supporting one. What’s changed? They’re willing to do ANYTHING to stop President Trump from implementing his agenda,” Johnson said.
Per Fox, Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., told the media this week that Democrats “want a shutdown.”
“The American people agree with reducing federal spending, getting this country back on the right track. And the Democrats are so opposed to it, they’re willing to push to a shutdown. It’s all on them,” she stated.
Earlier this week, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt echoed President Trump’s call for Republican unity on this vote, noting, “Voting against this continuing resolution will hurt the American people and kill the incredible momentum that President Trump has built over the past 51 days.”
Indeed, it appears the Trump administration is supporting this stopgap bill to ensure that the momentum of the first seven weeks of the president’s leadership is not unnecessarily stalled. The question is: will Republicans in the Senate have enough leverage to pass the bill? Possibly. Democrat Sen. John Fetterman (Pa.) has indicated that he will vote “yes” on the CR, signaling at least one Democrat willing to join with Republicans on this issue. He explained on X, “Voting to shut the government down will punish millions or risk a recession. I disagree with many points in the CR, but I will never vote to shut our government down.”
Additionally, it seems that Senate Democrats may privately be preparing to vote for the bill to avert a last-minute shutdown. According to The Hill, “one Democratic senator familiar with the internal deliberations said Senate Democrats will ultimately vote to keep the government open, despite the rumblings of liberals within their caucus who are heaping scorn on the House-passed funding bill.”
Is Democrats’ political posturing on the CR nothing more than grandstanding? It remains to be seen, but Americans will soon find out if Congress is capable of using its thin majority to effectively support President Trump’s agenda every step of the way.
