Senate Republicans and some Democrats fear another government shutdown is looming this fall, after bipartisan spending talks broke down this week.
Republicans believe Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) wants another showdown over government funding right before the midterm election, as per The Hill.
“I think my Democratic friends at the direction of Sen Schumer are not going to agree to a top-line [spending number] and they're not going to agree to vote for any appropriations bill, and Sen Schumer is going to shut down government,” said Sen John Kennedy (R-La), a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee.
This concern grew after talks between Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Sen Patty Murray (D-Wash), the top Democrat on the panel, stalled.
Collins canceled Thursday's markup of four bills, as Sen Mitch McConnell (R-Ky) was absent this week due to a health issue and she couldn't count on Democratic votes to pass the bills out of her committee.
Last year, the Senate Appropriations Committee had passed many spending bills with strong bipartisan support but with the midterm election close, “Last year was not an election year,” Kennedy noted.
Sen Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), chair of the Senate Republican Policy Committee, said, “Democrats want to shut us down... Hopefully we can solve the problem. There's no support on the other side.”
Democrats blame republicans for the standoff, arguing it would be Republicans' fault since they control the White House and both chambers of Congress.
Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn) said another shutdown could be on the table this fall. “These guys are the Keystone Cops. They don't know how to run the government, so a shutdown is always possible,” he said.
