Senate Averts Shutdown, Passes Continuing Resolution
Sens. Maggie Hassan (D-NH) and Angus King (I-ME) voted yes to pass the CR.
The Senate broke the filibuster, 62-38, to advance the continuing resolution to the floor.
The chamber then voted 54-46 to pass the CR. Sens. Maggie Hassan (D-NH) and Angus King (I-ME) voted yes.
Sens. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and Angus King (I-ME) crossed the aisle on final passage, while Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) was the lone Republican to vote against, calling it a continuation of the "Biden spending levels."
— CSPAN (@cspan) March 14, 2025
The CR keeps the government funded until September 30. It will then be sent to President Donald Trump’s desk for him to sign.
Earlier today, nine Democrats and one independent voted to break the filibuster:
- Minority Leader Chuck Schumer
- John Fetterman (PA)
- Catherine Cortez Masto (NV)
- Dick Durbing (IL)
- Brian Schatz (HI)
- Gary Peters (MI)
- Kirsten Gillibrand (NY)
- Maggie Hassan (NH)
- Jeanne Shaheen (NH)
- Angus King (I-ME)
As I said above, only Hassan and King voted yes on the bill.
Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) also voted no.
Before the Senate voted on the bill, the chamber voted on amendments.
Four senators introduced amendments: Jeff Merkley (D-OR), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), and Paul. From The Hill (emphasis mine):
Van Hollen’s amendment would eliminate the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
Duckworth’s amendment would reinstate veterans who were fired from their federal jobs by the Trump administration.
Paul’s amendment would codify DOGE’s cuts to foreign aid, which were approved by Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
The three Democratic amendments will need 60 votes each to be adopted. The Paul amendment would need a simple majority to be adopted.
The note in the Paul amendment is vital because if it had passed, “it would require calling the House back from recess to pass the bill, and Paul has been pushing to hold a vote at a simple majority threshold — further squeezing the GOP.”
Only 27 Republicans voted for Paul’s amendment. Pathetic.
The Republicans shot down Van Hollen’s amendment, 48 to 52.
Duckworth’s amendment failed, too, 47 to 53.
Merkley’s amendment, which would have eliminated the $20 billion the CR stripped from the IRS, also died with a 47-to-53 vote.
DONATE
Donations tax deductible
to the full extent allowed by law.
Comments
I was kind of hoping they’d shut it down so I could reuse all those dire videos about the effects of a shutdown by Dems.
Next time.
And there will be a next time. Congress has relied on CRs to fund the government rather than following the regular budget process since January 2009. I would love to be wrong but Democrats (and a few Republicans) love it this way. They will not return to regular order without a fight. A big fight. Are Congressional Republicans fighters? To ask the question answers it.
While I understand Rand Paul’s stance, some times you take one to show team unity. Now work on cutting spending for a new budget.
This. This is the most realistic outcome we could hope for at this early stage.
Fair enough. What about when taking ‘this one’ for the team becomes taking a series for the team? At what point does the team concept come into play to support the very few members of Congress who want to cut spending? Not slow the rate of the spending growth but actually spend LESS. When does that reciprocity kick in?
I suspect that when we get around to voting on the FY26 budget in a few months that the spending in FY26 will not be any less than we spend in FY25. If FY26 spending
increases any less than $1/4 trillion over FY25 I will be
surprised.
The look with a POTUS and bicameral majority and a shutdown is not good imo
If I read the article right, Paul voted to end the fillibuster and then introduced an amendment. Sounds ok to me as I’m sure Thune knew how many votes he needed.
Republicans, this is what winning tastes like. Never ever forget it. Never let them get up.
Fight, fight, fight.
And no one is listening to Nancy or AOC. Maybe call Trump Hitler again.
Big R victory, because the CR turns appropriations department-wide rather than to specific programs. Gives the new administration MUCH more flexibility.
>”The CR keeps the government funded until September 30.”
So by September 30th the Congress will be able to present to the U.S. public and the President an actual budget that outlines the exact spending for each department of the Cabinet, right? Right?!?? Oh wait nope, ain’t gonna happen. Congress will piss the time away dealing with other inconsequential matters until they are regrettably forced to pass yet another Continuing Spending Resolution pushing the whole matter of an actual budget further into the future.
The CR bought time for the GoP in HoR and Senate to get together with the Trump Admin to get their budget goals finalized and move legislation through the committee process to floor votes. This comes at the cost of an affidavits to keep the Biden/Schumer budget spending in place the remainder of the FY.
That said I agree with your prediction. I suspect that we won’t have bills for FY26 budget going through regular order to floor vote and in place on 30 Sept. Nor will there be any cuts to spending in FY26. Any ‘cuts’ will be on the tail end of a 5 or 10 year projection and will based on expectations about economic growth/tax revenue gains not actually spending less in FY26 than FY25.
The obstructionist democrats in the House and Senate will never allow a Trump federal budget to pass unscathed. democrats will attempt to add hundreds of amendments to every department spending bill increasing spending beyond what Trump proposes and the federal government can afford. And if they can’t get what they want they’ll torpedo any attempts to pass any budget legislation whatsoever. Then of course, House and Senate democrats will run up against the Continuing Spending Resolution deadline and they’ll have to pass yet another CSR extension because we simply cannot allow a government shutdown and yah yah yah, Lather, rinse, repeat and we might have a federal budget by the turn of the century. But I wouldn’t hold my breath in anticipation of that ever happening.
They might be able to get done with a reconciliation vote between the HoR version and Senate version which just needs a simple majority, no filibuster allowed. That’s more/less the plan as I understand it. That said the DC establishment will likely try and find excuses.
The problem is too much spending. Until they make meaningful cuts to current year spending in the order of at least $1 Trillion with further cuts of another $1 and half 1/2 Trillion over the 2 years following it then it isn’t a serious effort to reduce spending. Growth is fine and more tax.revenue from a better economy are great but until those come into the Treasury they are no more hopeful projections. Getting to a balanced budget and cutting spending requires….year over year cuts to spending not just on paper in the last couple years of a long term 5 or 10 year budget projection. When the majority of voters are PO that ‘their’ program is getting the ax then we know DC is serious.
Note: ALL of the amendments needed to be voted down so the Senate bill was exactly the same as the passed House bill, or the House would have to come back and take another vote on the modified bill, and that would be several days from now at absolute best. The Senate Republicans did a great job holding together and preventing the SchumerShutdown.
It just means the deep state can keep operating.
The Dems clearly thought this was going to play out the same way previous budget confrontations have — they threaten a shutdown with their flying monkeys in the MSM putting all the blame on the Rs and the Rs fold like cheap suits. Except this time that’s not what happened. Schumer blustered and the Rs called his bluff, leaving him with two unpalatable (for his side) options.
A shutdown would hand President Trump and Russell Vought (who absolutely terrifies them) the power to furlough workers they deem non-essential. The vast majority of voters would not notice and/or not care and, with the MSM’s greatly-diminished ability to set the narrative, no guarantee the Rs could be blamed for any suffering. That Schumer viewed a humiliating surrender that both emboldened the Rs and infuriated a big chunk of his own party as the better option is very telling.
I have no idea what Schumer was doing. He said all the Dems were on board with not voting for end the fillibuster and then laid down like a dog. Either someone must have convinced him the Repubs would cave like usual or he missed Trump being elected. He looks weak and foolish so, to me, it looks like the younger Dems have had enough of him and his days are numbered.
While the upside is the Republicans managed to stick together and get something passed, the something that was passed was Joe Biden’s budget plus another $10B or $20B. This means there is ZERO appetite by enough Republicans in either house of Congress to actually restrain spending in any meaningful way irrespective of what DOGE is doing…because what DOGE is doing is only temporary. Everything they’ve cut can, and certainly will come back with the 2025/2026 budget because it’s obvious the GOP doesn’t have the votes do do anything different.
Normies just don’t have any idea how broke we are and how that is impacting the cost of everyday items. Things aren’t getting more expensive. Instead, our money is losing it’s actual value. We cannot continue to print the money we’re printing every year without profound adverse economic impact in the immediate horizon….and no one cares. The finding out part of this equation is going to be traumatic.
The only GoP member in the HoR to oppose this CR b/c he wanted real cuts in current spending was Thomas Massie and Trump threatened to primary him. Cutting the rate of the growth in spending isn’t gonna get it.done. Gotta be willing to make meaningful cuts to current year over year spending. Those cuts gotta begin with a ‘T’ as in at least half a Trillion to be meaningful. IMO, we should go back to the last Clinton budget, adjust for inflation and use that as the top line spending limit. That would force th folks writing budgets to make tough decisions based on priorities v the current Oprah style ‘you get gov’t $ and you get gov’t $, everyone gets gov’t $’. I suspect lots of MAGA folks don’t seem to grasp how much we gotta cut and what that will mean for them. Gravy trains are unaffordable and everyone gonna have find their own way in the future except the non able bodied.
Leave a Comment