Media Contact
Damien Sharp
As a government shutdown looms, Senate Republicans are faced with the fact that they do not have enough votes to pass the stopgap spending bill, while Senate Democrats grapple with whether or not to support the House GOP bill.
Dan Lamb, politics expert, former congressional aide for 15 years and senior lecturer at the Cornell Brooks School of Public Policy, says this vote will illustrate how much power Congress is willing to cede to President Trump.
Dan Lamb
Senior Lecturer
“This week Congress is showing how far it is willing to align itself with President Trump and how much more power they are willing to cede. While this continuing resolution is needed to avoid a government shutdown, it also sends a message that Congress has no appetite to challenge the White House on tariffs, spending discretion, or micro-managing the District of Columbia’s budget.
“On Tuesday, House Republicans jammed the Democrats by passing the CR on a party-line vote, then leaving town. Democrats in the Senate now face a rare opportunity to impact a legislative outcome, but their choices are perilous. No Senator wants to be blamed for a government shutdown, but the Democratic base is demanding that their Senators use this moment to disrupt the Trump agenda. The outcome in the Senate will have a significant impact on government operations and likely raise the political temperature even further.”
