--- title: Schumer Announces He'll Help GOP Avert Shutdown description: Schumer said he would help advance a GOP spending bill because a shutdown "has consequences for America that are much, much worse." canonical: https://time.com/7268035/senate-democrats-government-shutdown/ author: Nik Popli article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2025-03-13T22:58:36.000Z article:modified_time: 2025-03-14T00:15:16.000Z article:section: Politics og:title: Schumer Announces He'll Help GOP Avert Shutdown og:description: Schumer said he would help advance a GOP spending bill because a shutdown "has consequences for America that are much, much worse." og:url: https://time.com/7268035/senate-democrats-government-shutdown/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfde80b999c4227cd/6998c4e683ec37e352c7a69c/GettyImages-2204298692.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 6950 og:image:height: 3909 og:image:alt: Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Schumer Announces He'll Help GOP Avert Shutdown twitter:description: Schumer said he would help advance a GOP spending bill because a shutdown "has consequences for America that are much, much worse." twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfde80b999c4227cd/6998c4e683ec37e352c7a69c/GettyImages-2204298692.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Schumer Says He'll Help Republicans Pass 'Deeply Partisan' Spending Bill to Avert Shutdown > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters.  by [Nik Popli](https://time.com/author/nik-popli/)  ## Nik Popli Staff Writer Updated: Mar 14, 2025 12:15 AM UTCPublished: Mar 13, 2025 10:58 PM UTC  Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Sen. Tina Smith, D-Minn., arrive for the Senate Democrats' lunch meeting in the U.S. Capitol on Thursday, March 13, 2025 Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Sen. Tina Smith, D-Minn., arrive for the Senate Democrats' lunch meeting in the U.S. Capitol on Thursday, March 13, 2025 Bill Clark–CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images  by [Nik Popli](https://time.com/author/nik-popli/)  ## Nik Popli Staff Writer Updated: Mar 14, 2025 12:15 AM UTCPublished: Mar 13, 2025 10:58 PM UTC Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer announced Thursday evening that he would help advance a House GOP spending bill that would fund the government through the end of the fiscal year—a strong indication that enough Senate Democrats will ultimately join Republicans to avert a government shutdown ahead of Friday’s midnight deadline. "While the \[continuing resolution\] bill is very bad, the potential for a shutdown has consequences for America that are much, much worse,” Schumer said on the Senate floor, hours after two dozen of his fellow Senate Democrats said they were firmly against it. The move marked a dramatic shift for Schumer, who just a day earlier had insisted that there were not enough Democratic votes to pass the bill. Senate Republicans need 60 votes to overcome a filibuster under the chamber’s rules, but they only have a 53-47 majority, meaning they need seven Democrats to join them. After days of private meetings and heated debate within his caucus, Schumer ultimately concluded that Democrats had little choice but to relent and keep the government open, even as many in his party bristled at the idea of supporting legislation they had no role in crafting. “Look, the bottom line is you have to make these decisions based on what is best for not only your party but your country,” Schumer told reporters after his speech. “I firmly believe and always have that I've made the right decision." His move was met with immediate backlash from progressive Democrats in both chambers, who had urged the Senate to hold firm against a bill they see as an unacceptable concession to Republican priorities. House Democrats, who had unanimously voted against the bill earlier this week, were particularly incensed. “Those games won’t fool anyone. It won’t trick voters, it won’t trick House members. People will not forget it,” warned Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a progressive Democrat from New York, in a [post on X](https://x.com/AOC/status/1900208590545129614) hours before Schumer’s move. The internal Democratic turmoil highlighted the difficult position the party found itself in. On one side were the two dozen Senators arguing that Democrats should take a stand, even if it meant a temporary government shutdown. On the other were those who feared that a shutdown would only serve to consolidate power in the hands of Trump and his allies, particularly Elon Musk, the billionaire who has been working closely with the administration on government restructuring. “A shutdown would give Donald Trump and Elon Musk carte blanche to destroy vital government services at a significantly faster rate than they can right now,” Schumer said on the Senate floor. The Republican bill, which largely maintains current government funding levels through Sept. 30, would allow Trump broad discretion over federal spending. Many Democrats worry that this could allow the administration to target government workers and programs they disfavor, slashing jobs and resources without congressional oversight. The bill also cuts non-defense spending by $13 billion and increases military spending by $6 billion, as well as scales back funding from President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act by reversing new investments at the IRS for tax enforcement and reducing spending for social programs. Schumer said that he finds the Republican spending bill “deeply partisan” but is more concerned about the prospect of “allowing Donald Trump to take even much more power via a government shutdown.” Additional Democrats could follow Schumer’s lead. Only Senator John Fetterman of Pennsylvania had publicly committed to supporting the bill before Schumer’s announcement, calling opposition to it “total theater.” More than two dozen Democrats remain skeptical or uncommitted as of Thursday night. Republicans would need just five more Senate Democrats to back the bill to avoid a shutdown—a task that seems probable following the Democratic leader’s move. Earlier Thursday, Arizona Senators Mark Kelly and Ruben Gallego, who were both considered possible “yes” votes, joined the growing list of Democrats opposing the GOP resolution. In recent days, incredible pressure has been put on the more than a dozen Senate Democrats, many from swing states, who have not ruled out voting for the GOP bill just to avoid a shutdown. Some Democrats floated the idea of attaching a 30-day stopgap measure as an amendment, allowing them to symbolically oppose the Republican bill while ultimately letting it pass. Schumer told reporters Thursday night that no deal has been made on amendments, but that Senate Democrats are “going to try to get some amendments on the bill” that would give some party members cover in voting for the package. Trump has preemptively sought to shift blame for a potential shutdown onto Democrats, despite his party controlling Congress. “If there’s a shutdown, it’s only going to be because of Democrats,” he told reporters Thursday. A [Quinnipiac University poll](https://poll.qu.edu/images/polling/us/us03132025%5Fufoz84.pdf) released Thursday found that 32% of registered voters would blame Democrats in Congress for a shutdown, while 31% would blame Republicans in Congress and 22% would blame Trump. Even before Schumer’s decision, Senate Republicans were confident that Democrats [would fold](https://time.com/7267412/government-shutdown-chuck-schumer/) before the deadline. “They’ll cave,” predicted Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, on Thursday morning. “They have been railing against Elon Musk and the Trump Administration over reductions in force of the federal employees, and now they basically want to put all of them out of work by shutting down the government.” The political consequences of a shutdown remain uncertain. The last government shutdown took place during Trump’s first term in office, and lasted about 35 days—the longest shutdown in the modern era. Another prolonged shutdown would halt federal services, furlough workers, and delay paychecks for government employees. “I think what everyone is wrestling with is that this is like either outcome is terrible, right?” Democratic Sen. Martin Heinrich of New Mexico, who came out against the bill, told reporters Thursday afternoon. “This President has put us in a position where, in either direction, lots of people's constituents are going to get hurt and hurt badly. 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