Democratic Georgia Sen. Jon Ossoff announced he will vote against the GOP spending bill Thursday, defying Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer to join left-wing members of his party who are vowing to shut down the government.
Ossoff, one of the most vulnerable Democratic incumbents up for reelection in 2026, is viewed as a top target by Republican strategists to expand the GOP’s 53-47 Senate majority. The Georgia Democrat cited alleged cuts to nondefense spending and Senate Republicans’ refusal to limit President Donald Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency in the bill as his rationale for opposing the GOP spending bill.
The government is scheduled to undergo a partial shutdown on Friday after midnight absent at least eight Senate Democrats joining GOP senators to advance the six-month stopgap spending bill, known as a continuing resolution (CR), during the cloture vote to overcome the Senate filibuster.
“I will oppose the House budget proposal,” Ossoff wrote in a statement. “The best available solution is a 30-day stopgap funding measure to avoid a shutdown, during which time Congress can do its job to properly pass a bipartisan budget.”
Sen. Ossoff Will Vote ‘No’ on House Budget Proposal pic.twitter.com/G98VrbuLIB
— Ossoff’s Office (@SenOssoff) March 14, 2025
The leader of Senate GOP’s campaign arm criticized Ossoff for bucking Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer and joining the most liberal members of his conference to shut down the government. Schumer announced on the Senate floor Thursday he would support the GOP spending bill, caving to Senate Republicans’ pressure to keep the government open and avert a partial shutdown.
“Once again, Ossoff sides with the most radical members of his party,” Republican South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott, chairman of Senate Republicans’ campaign arm, wrote on X Thursday. “By auditioning to be the newest member of AOC’s Squad and voting to shutdown the government, he is willing to put our troops, veterans, and border security at risk. Georgia has had enough.”
The Senate is slated to hold a cloture vote on the GOP spending bill Friday.
Ossoff joined Senate Democrats to block the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act from advancing to a vote on final passage. The bill would have codified Trump’s executive order enacting a categorical ban on transgender athletes from participating in girls’ and women’s sports.
Democratic Sens. Elissa Slotkin of Michigan, Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin and Ruben Gallego have all committed to vote “no” on the cloture vote that would advance the government funding bill. They notably won their Senate contests in 2024 despite Trump defeating former Vice President Kamala Harris in each state.
The Georgia Democrat may suffer politically for voting against the girls and women’s sports bill, according to a Georgia poll published Wednesday by Cygnal.
Ossoff trails a generic Republican by 12 points in a hypothetical matchup after likely general election voters were read a statement saying, “Jon Ossoff voted to allow men to play in women’s sports if they claim to identify as a woman, taking away opportunities from our girls.”
Ossoff also voted against a Senate budget resolution that would have unlocked up to $175 billion to implement the president’s border security agenda, including additional funding for the administration’s deportation efforts.
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