Democrats Block GOP Funding Bill, Shutdown to Enter Fifth Week

Senate Democrats blocked a GOP-led continuing resolution on Tuesday.

The Details: The continuing resolution, which previously passed in the House of Representatives, marked Republicans’ 13th attempt to reopen the government, which shut down on Oct. 1. If passed, it would have funded the government through Nov. 21; however, it failed at 54-45 votes, needing 60 to pass. Sens. John Fetterman (D-PA) and Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV) were the only Democrats to support the bill, as did Sen. Angus King (I-ME). Republican lawmakers reportedly held a “closed door lunch” on Tuesday with Vice President JD Vance to discuss the matter. 

Key Quotes: Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) continued to argue in favor of the continuing resolution, “We need five more Senate Democrats to vote to reopen the government. Or they can force families to go without food, the travel situation to get much worse, and millions of Americans to suffer the consequences.” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said, “It’s a partisan bill and does nothing, most importantly, does nothing to solve the [healthcare] crisis.” He also argued, “Republicans do not even want to talk about fixing health care. Americans are on the brink of a health care crisis unlike we have seen in our lifetimes.”

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How The Media Covered It: Fox News (Right bias) framed the block as though Democrats are not looking to reopen the government. Rather than saying the lawmakers blocked the bill itself, the article said in its lede that Democrats blocked “attempt[s] to reopen the government.” The article also said Thune was “foiled” by Schumer and other Democrats, and that Schumer “blamed President Donald Trump for being overseas this week as a reason that no forward progress was being made on reopening the government.” The Hill (Center) noted that “lawmakers in both parties” expressed concern for SNAP beneficiaries and air traffic control workers. The outlet also speculated that the Federal Reserve “may be forced to make a critical decision on cutting interest rates at a time when the government has stopped collecting and releasing information about the economy.” Politico (Lean Left) said, “Democrats have largely signaled they have no immediate plans to change their position,” but also, “Republicans want to keep maximum pressure on Democrats to reopen the government by making conditions on the ground as unpleasant as possible.” The outlet highlighted, “A growing number of Democrats have signaled they would be willing to support [GOP] legislation” that would fund SNAP during the shutdown.

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