US government shutdown in balance after top Democrat avoids fight

Democrats are smarting over Trump's radical spending cuts which have shredded entire sections of government and seen Congress largely bypassed in what critics say is an unconstitutional exercise of power by the White House.

Many in the party argue that refusing to back the Republican bill funding the US government for another six months would be a chance for Democrats to demonstrate opposition to the Trump project. Republicans have a slim majority with 53 of the 100 senators, but need some Democratic support to reach the necessary 60 votes for getting their bill through.

Ahead of the Friday midnight deadline, top Senate Democrat Chuck Schumer — who has long insisted that it is bad politics to shut down the government — said he would support the bill.

A Democratic blockade of the bill and the ensuing chaos of the entire US government temporarily being out of funds would be «a gift» to Trump, he said.

Live Events

Many senior Democrats were furious at Schumer but early Friday, Trump signaled his pleasure at the climbdown.

«Congratulations to Chuck Schumer for doing the right thing — Took „guts“ and courage!» Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.

Schumer has been joined by Pennsylvania's Democratic Senator John Fetterman. However, Schumer has not explicitly told his troops which way to vote, leaving it unclear whether enough Democrats will join Republicans.

— Defying Elon Musk? -

There have been four shutdowns where operations were affected for more than one business day, with the last occurring during Trump's first term.

During the disruption, up to 900,000 federal employees can be furloughed, while another million deemed essential workers — from air traffic controllers to police — work without pay.

Back