We find ourselves in a familiar place: If Republicans and Democrats do not reach an agreement by the end of Friday, there will be a partial government shutdown. The smart money in Washington is usually on some sort of last-minute deal being cobbled together, but there is still a long way to go before we get to that point.
The House of Representatives on Tuesday night, in a narrow 217-213 vote, passed a continuing resolution that would keep the government funded until the end of the fiscal year, which is on September 30. But now the matter is in the hands of the Senate, which has a 60-vote threshold, and thus, Republicans will need at least seven Democrats to sign on.
We reiterate our long-standing position that making policy from crisis to crisis, from one stopgap funding measure to the next, is no way to govern. There are serious fiscal challenges facing the nation that require steady, boring, legislative work, and there should be a more orderly budget process.
That said, the current reality is that President Trump and the new Republican Congress took over months into the fiscal year, with the government operating under a short-term spending agreement that had been cobbled together at the end of the Biden administration. Allowing the government to shut down would not save any money, since furloughed workers would be entitled to back pay, nor is it likely to lead to a better deal. Thus, the most responsible thing to do would be to pass legislation that gets the government through the year, allowing lawmakers to prepare for the first full year of the new administration.
The House-passed bill would increase funding for defense, veterans’ affairs, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and offset that with some cuts to non-defense domestic spending. While this is all sensible, less so is a rules package Republicans passed in conjunction with the CR that aims to block a vote on Trump’s tariffs. The language prevents Democrats from bringing up a resolution ending Trump’s national emergency declaration on fentanyl and the border, which he is using as the basis for imposing tariffs on Mexico and Canada.
Under the National Emergencies Act, Democrats have the ability to introduce a privileged resolution on terminating the emergency that would require a vote within 15 days. There is no danger of such a resolution passing with Republicans in control of both chambers of Congress. However, it would force a tough vote on Republicans, who would have to choose between defying Trump or allowing him to continue to impose tariffs unilaterally.
Republicans should not proactively defang the legislative branch just to avoid a difficult vote, and practically speaking, they need Democratic votes to avert a government shutdown. Democrats are currently under heavy pressure from their base to resist the Trump administration with more gusto, and it could be tempting for them to dig in this time. With Republicans in full control of Washington, and with Trump and Elon Musk’s DOGE making noise daily about slashing the government workforce and shutting down the Department of Education, Democrats have good reason to believe that the GOP would be blamed for any shutdown. The language blocking a House vote on Trump’s use of emergency powers reinforces their sense of helplessness, and could make them more likely to put up a fight over the funding. For now, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer is floating a shorter, 30-day extension, which could eventually clear the path for a funding bill to pass for the rest of the fiscal year.
Republicans should recognize that they will need Democratic votes, while Democrats, who pound the table about being the party of responsibility, should vote to avert a government shutdown.