Republicans are ramping up pressure on Senate Democrats ahead of a vote on the House-passed stopgap spending bill to keep the government open, even dubbing a potential funding lapse as a "Schumer shutdown."


*Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer is shown at left. Democrats and Republicans are in a government shutdown showdown as the clock ticks. (Reuters)*

Earlier in the week, House Republicans passed a , called a continuing resolution (CR), which would keep spending levels the same as fiscal year 2024 until Oct. 1. If a spending bill is not passed by Friday, the government will enter into a partial shutdown.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., took to the chamber floor on Wednesday and said, "Republicans do not have the votes in the Senate to invoke cloture on the House CR," which he slammed for being a "partisan path" to funding the government.

The resolution would notably  as they were when former President Joe Biden was in office.

Instead, Schumer said Senate Democrats were interested in passing a "clean" monthlong stopgap bill.

A spokesperson for Murray told Fox News Digital in a statement, "For months, Senator Murray has remained at the table ready to negotiate and pass bipartisan funding bills—and she stands ready to work with the Senate Republican majority to immediately pass a short-term stopgap to prevent a shutdown. In fact, she and her Democratic colleagues pressed to get government funding done in December—but Speaker Johnson chose to kick the can down the road and walk away from bipartisan talks."

A representative for Schumer did not provide comment in time for publication.

Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., sounded off on the potential funding lapse, saying, "We all know the Democrats want a shutdown."

"The American people agree with reducing federal spending, getting this country back on the right track. And the Democrats are so opposed to it, they're willing to push to a shutdown. It's all on them," she told reporters.




*Sen. Marsha Blackburn (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)*

Sen. Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn., said in a statement, "Republicans are doing the right thing for the American people by making sure our government stays open."

However, "Democrats are sacrificing the good of hardworking Americans on the altar of their hatred for Donald Trump. They should reverse course and join Republicans in keeping the lights on in the federal government. Enough with the political games."



Votes on beginning the process to consider the stopgap bill are expected to occur on Thursday, depending on whether Republicans and Democrats come to an agreement to skip lengthy procedural votes that are routine for most votes.

Julia Johnson is a politics writer for Fox News Digital and Fox Business, leading coverage of the U.S. Senate. She was previously a politics reporter at the Washington Examiner.

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