Chuck Schumer Refuses To Fund Government And End Shutdown — Again

Senate Democrats rejected a clean, bipartisan spending bill to temporarily fund the government on Friday afternoon, ensuring the government shutdown will continue into next week with no votes scheduled for the weekend.

Just three Democrats crossed party lines to advance a House-passed bill that would reopen the government, short of the eight Democrats needed to overcome the upper chamber’s legislative filibuster. Democrats’ refusal to fund government operations comes as active-duty troops are reporting to work without pay and federal nutrition programs that tens of millions of low-income Americans rely on are in danger of expiring.

Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul was the lone Republican to vote against the seven-week funding extension, which would temporarily fund the government through Nov. 21. The failed vote of 54 to 44 marked the fourth time that Senate Democrats have voted to shut down the government.

The continuing shutdown comes as far-left activist groups, including MoveOn, are engaging in a concerted pressure campaign to persuade Senate Democrats to oppose the bipartisan funding bill and keep the government shutdown for the sake of political leverage.

However, a handful of Democrats, such as Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman, have dissented from the prevailing view among Democrats that refusing to fund the government is justified until Republicans agree to add roughly $1.5 trillion in healthcare demands to their funding measure.

“I don’t care if it’s a Republican, Democrat, whatever administration — it’s wrong to shut our government down,” Fetterman told reporters on Friday. “Now people are gaming out who’s getting more blame. I don’t give a shit who’s getting the blame. It’s bad for our nation.”