Democrats Defy Call From Allied Federal Workers Union To End Government Shutdown

Senate Democrats largely brushed off the pleas of a longtime party ally to end the 28-day government shutdown on Tuesday, rejecting a clean funding measure to reopen the government for the 13th time.

Senators voted 54 to 45 to temporarily fund the government through Nov. 21, falling short of the Senate’s 60-vote threshold. The vote tally has remained unchanged since the opening days of the shutdown with the same three Democratic caucus members — Democratic Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, Democratic Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada and Independent Sen. Angus King of Maine — crossing party lines to reopen the government.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s decision to prolong the shutdown comes after the country’s largest federal workers union called on Democrats to vote for the House-passed spending bill to reopen the government without mentioning either party by name.

“Federal workers – your constituents, who serve your constituents – are hurting,” American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) national president Everett Kelley wrote in an open letter on Monday. “As president of the largest federal employee union, I cannot countenance the sight of workers I represent standing in food lines. It should trouble the conscience of every member of Congress and indeed every American.”

Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin, the second-ranking Senate Democrat, told reporters that his caucus were taking federal workers’ concerns “seriously.” Hundreds of thousands of federal workers missed their first full paycheck of the shutdown on Friday and more federal employees, including air traffic controllers, did not receive their government salary on Tuesday.

“It has a lot of impact,” Durbin said of AFGE’s call for an end to the shutdown. “They’ve been our friends.”