Live updates: Senate averts government shutdown; Trump lays out plan for DOJ

Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) praised his colleague Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) during an interview this week, stating the Pennsylvania lawmaker has “come a long way” and is the “only” Democrat in the upper chamber “speaking common sense.” 

“John Fetterman has come a long way. He’s had all kind of health issues since he got here, but I’ll tell you what, he is the only leader out there that’s speaking common sense,” Tuberville said during a Thursday appearance on Newsmax. 

Read the full story here.

Senators voted on Friday to pass legislation to prevent cuts to D.C.’s local budget after city officials warned the District faces a $1 billion hit under a stopgap government funding bill approved by the Senate moments earlier.

The bill, which allows the District to continue operating at its adopted fiscal year 2025 budget, passed by voice vote.

“This legislation will make sure that we take care of the residents of the district. It will support law enforcement and firefighters and teachers and basic city services,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s (D-N.Y.) said ahead of the vote.

Read the full story here.

The Senate voted mostly along party lines Friday afternoon to pass the House Republican-drafted bill to fund government through September, avoiding a government shutdown only hours before funding was due to lapse.

President Trump is expected to sign the bill into law.

The final vote was 54-46. Two members of the Democratic caucus voted for the bill, Sens. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), who is retiring at the end of her current term, and Angus King (Maine), an independent who caucuses with Democrats. Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) voted no.

Read more here.

The Senate is now taking a final vote on a government funding bill to avert a shutdown at midnight.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s (D-N.Y.) said Friday that senators will vote on a bipartisan bill to approve local funds for D.C. for fiscal year 2025.

“Soon, the Senate will vote on a bipartisan piece of legislation that will make an important D.C. funding fix,” Schumer said.

“This legislation will make sure that we take care of the residents of the district. It will support law enforcement and firefighters and teachers and basic city services. This legislation is very good news for the residents of the District of Columbia. I am happy we are passing this bill today.

“I thank my colleagues for working quickly to bring this bill to the floor. Once the Senate acts, we urge the House to act quickly.”

D.C. officials had warned that the continuing resolution set to pass the Senate and be signed into law would force the city to revert to fiscal year 2024 funding for the remainder of the year, resulting in a $1 billion local budget cut.

The Senate voted 27 to 73 against Sen. Rand Paul’s (R-Ky.) amendment calling for DOGE cuts to USAID to be codified into law.

Paul’s amendment, which was the lone one set at a 51-vote threshold, was opposed widely, as its approval would have forced the House to return to vote again on the CR.

Nearly half of the Senate GOP voted with every Democrat to defeat the amendment. This was the final amendment vote before final passage of the continuing resolution.

Rep. Jared Golden (D-Maine) told NBC News’s Kristen Welker on “Meet the Press Now” that Democrats have “no leverage” in opposing the continuing resolution and could’ve caused more harm by shutting down the government in voting against it.

“If Republicans needed the votes, then we would have had leverage. Fact of the matter is, they didn’t. And what they know, and what leader Schumer understands is, in fact, if a shutdown began, we would have even less leverage in that situation and be in a perilous political position. We would likely have to offer even greater concessions just to get the government open again,” he said Friday.

He went on to add that opposing the CR wouldn’t change how President Trump and Elon Musk are acting.

“I would say that anything that the President and his team has been doing or is doing today that’s illegal will remain illegal after the passage of this CR and as Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and others are warning, the opposite would be what would come out of a shutdown – expanded authority in the hands of the President and his allies like Elon Musk to go ahead and furlough the federal government, send workers home without pay and start to dissemble government services for the American people,” he said.

Senators voted 48 to 52 to defeat an amendment proposed by Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) targeting Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

The amendment would have prohibited funds from being used to support DOGE, which has sought to slash parts of numerous departments and agencies across the government, affecting scores of federal employees in the process.

Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), who called on Republicans to oppose it, was shouted down at times during her remarks in support of DOGE cuts.

Sens. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) were blocked Friday from passing a package of health policies, including changes to the pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) industry that was left out of December’s government spending bill. 

Wyden, the top Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, attempted to pass the bipartisan legislation by unanimous consent. It was blocked by Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.), who made no comments on the Senate floor as to his reasons.

The Hill has reached out to Scott’s office.

“We have reached a bipartisan conclusion to go forward, in a modest way, but it would have some impact in improving health care in America, and my Republican colleague objects. That’s about it,” Sanders said on the Senate floor. “Well, I hope the American people are watching. “ 

The Senate voted 47 to 53 to oppose an amendment proposed by Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) that would reinstate veterans who were federal employees fired by the Trump administration in recent months.

“These are folks who did one, two, six, seven tours, then came home and chose to keep serving their nation by joining federal service. These are heroes who deserve our utmost gratitude,” Duckworth said. “Instead, [President Trump and Elon Musk] are giving them the middle finger.”

Sen. Tim Sheehy (R-Mont.) called on all Republicans to oppose it, saying the continuing resolution is “pro-veteran” and pointing to the $6 billion increase in defense spending.

The Democrats who voted to advance the measure were:

• Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.)
• Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (Ill.)
• Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.)
• Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.)
• Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.)
• Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.)
• Sen. Angus King (I-Maine)
• Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mich.)
• Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii)
• Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.)

They joined every Republican except Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), who voted against the measure.

Peters and Shaheen have announced they will retire at the end of their current terms.

The Senate voted 47-53 to defeat an amendment sponsored by Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore) to eliminate the $20 billion rescission to IRS enforcement funding that House Republicans inserted in the six-month government funding bill. 

Merkley argued on the floor that restoring IRS funding would reduce the deficit by more than $40 billion by improving tax compliance. 

“Just because people have enormous paychecks and fancy consultants shouldn’t be that they get a license to cheat,” Merkley said on the floor. 

The Senate will now take four amendment votes before moving on to a final vote on the government funding bill.

One amendment, sponsored by Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), would exempt the application of certain rescissions.

A second, from Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), would reinstate veterans who were fired from their federal jobs under Trump. 

Another sponsored by Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) would eliminate the Department of Government Efficiency.

A fourth sponsored by Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) would codify the cuts to foreign assistance recommended by the Department of Government Efficiency. 

All of the amendments are expected to fail. 

President Trump on Friday visited the Justice Department for a remarkable victory lap eight weeks into his triumphant return to the White House.

Trump has long blamed the department under his predecessor for unfairly targeting him in cases that involved dozens of serious criminal charges. But his visit visually solidified Trump’s grip on the Justice Department amid fears from critics that he may seek to diminish the agency’s independence and push for prosecution of his perceived enemies.

“First we must be honest about the lies and abuses that have occurred within these walls. Unfortunately in recent years, a corrupt group of hacks and radicals within the ranks of the American government obliterated the trust and good will built up over generations. They weaponized the vast powers of our intelligence and law enforcement agencies to try and thwart the will of the American people,” Trump told those gathered at the department’s headquarters.

Past presidents have had limited interaction with their attorneys general – and visits to the department’s headquarters are rare. 

A group of 10 Democrats, including Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), on Friday voted to advance a Republican-crafted bill to fund the government through Sept. 30, taking a crucial step toward avoiding a government shutdown while infuriating many within their own party.

The pivotal procedural vote, which passed 62-28, puts the bill on a glidepath to pass the Senate sometime Friday afternoon, despite fierce opposition from many Democrats.

Read the full story here.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) announced Friday afternoon that the Senate would begin voting immediately on a procedural motion to end debate on a House-passed bill to fund the government through Sept. 30.

After the Senate invokes cloture to end debate on the measure, senators will vote on four amendments sponsored by Sens. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) and Rand Paul (D-Ky.).

Van Hollen’s amendment would eliminate the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

Duckworth’s amendment would reinstate veterans who were fired from their federal jobs by the Trump administration.

Paul’s amendment would codify DOGE’s cuts to foreign aid, which were approved by Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

The three Democratic amendments will need 60 votes each to be adopted. The Paul amendment would need a simple majority to be adopted.

Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.), who announced days ago that he would vote for a House-passed funding bill to avoid a government shutdown, said he doesn’t care about firebrand Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s (D-N.Y.) harsh criticism of Democratic senators who will vote to advance the controversial bill.

Fetterman said Ocasio-Cortez and other liberal lawmakers who are calling for the Senate to block the bill, which would fund government through Sept. 30, don’t have a viable exit strategy for ending a government shutdown.

And he says it’s easy for House liberals to take potshots at the Senate when members of Congress would continue to receive paychecks during a shutdown while tens of thousands of federal workers would be furloughed without pay, possibly for weeks.

“I hope you can relay how little I care about her views on this,” said Fetterman when asked about Ocasio-Cortez’s comments that Senate Democrats who vote to advance the bill are betraying their Democratic House colleagues.

Read more here.

The Senate is now voting on whether to advance Republicans’ government funding bill.

It needs 60 votes to advance, meaning eight Democrats must join with GOP senators.

This serves as a test vote. If the bill can overcome this procedural hurdle, it will almost certainly pass and avert a government shutdown.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) told reporters that lawmakers are closing in on a time agreement to vote on the year-end stopgap spending bill.

“We’re homing in on it,” Thune said. “Fasten your seatbelts.”

The planned procedural vote on the continuing resolution was nixed in favor of debate time as negotiators hammer out a deal. It would likely include a few amendments, mostly those brought forward by Democrats, before a procedural vote and final passage.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom urged Senate Democrats to oppose the House-passed CR, saying it only aids Trump and Musk’s efforts to shrink government.

“Senate Democrats need to stand up and do the right thing,” Newsom wrote Friday afternoon on X as the Senate debated the bill. “Passing this bill would give Republicans 6 months to consolidate power in the Executive branch and wreak havoc on our country.

“They are already threatening social security and Medicare. Gutting the Department of Education. Firing veterans. Vandalizing basic environmental protections. This will only allow them to continue that. They will go on to cut funding and punish states that don’t do their bidding,” the potential 2028 presidential candidate wrote.

“There’s still time to do the right thing. VOTE NO.”

A man that Rep. Nancy Mace accused of being part of a group of “predators” in a stunning House floor speech is suing the South Carolina Republican for defamation. 

The complaint, filed in federal court on Friday, sets up a battle over the Constitution’s Speech and Debate Clause, which shields lawmakers against lawsuits for things they say and do as part of their legislative work. Mace’s office cited the protection in a press release about her floor remarks. 

Brian Musgrave was one of four men that Mace named in the February speech in which she made a series of allegations of sexual abuse and voyeurism, naming Musgrave, her ex-fiancé, and two other South Carolina men. All of the men have denied wrongdoing. 

“Now, it is with unbridled disgust that Brian Musgrave through this lawsuit is forced to utter the words: ‘I am not a rapist.’ ‘I am not a predator.’ ‘I am not a sex trafficker,’” the lawsuit states. 

Read the full story here.

Asked multiple times on Friday if he has confidence in the Senate leader after Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) announced he would join Republicans to help pass the bill, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries (N.Y.) declined to weigh in. 

On two occasions, Jeffries dismissed the query with a terse response: “Next question.”

A third time, he said the debate is “not about one individual,” but rather the impact of the Republican bill on “everyday Americans.”

A fourth time, he accused reporters of playing “parlor games” while ignoring the practical effects of the legislation on people outside the Beltway. 

Read the full story here.

Dozens of House Democrats signed on to a pair of letters to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schuner (D-N.Y.) on Friday, urging him to oppose the House GOP’s government funding bill as the upper chamber prepares to take a key procedural vote on the measure.

The full-court press comes one day after Schumer broke with House Democrats and announced he would vote to advance the continuing resolution — crafted by House GOP lawmakers — prompting outrage throughout the Democratic Party.

In one letter, led by Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.), the ranking member of the House Appropriations Committee, Democrats on the panel said “we urge our Democratic colleagues in the Senate to reject the partisan and harmful continuing resolution,” arguing that it “will only serve to enable President Trump, Elon Musk, and the Republican Party’s ongoing efforts to unilaterally and unlawfully destroy the agencies and programs that serve the American people.”

Twenty-one Democrats signed the letter.

Read more here.

Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) says she’ll vote to advance Republicans’ government funding bill — reluctantly.

“A government shutdown would be devastating for the American people. It would force tens of thousands of Nevada military personnel, union members, law enforcement agents and nurses to work without pay. Shutting down the government gives President Trump and Elon Musk even more power to cherry-pick who is an essential employee, who they want to fire, and what agencies they want to shutter. And a shutdown would force federal courts to slow work on lawsuits against this administration’s illegal actions. The last government shutdown cost the American economy $11 billion and thousands of hardworking Americans were harmed. I cannot vote for that,” she said.

“This was not an easy decision. I’m outraged by the reckless actions of President Trump, Elon Musk, and Republicans in control of Congress, so I refuse to hand them a shutdown where they would have free reign to cause more chaos and harm. I’m focused on ensuring our veterans, seniors, and working families get their benefits and opposing Republican’s billionaire tax cut that is going to gut Medicaid,” she added.

Cortez Masto’s decision is likely welcome news for Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), who said he would also vote to advance the bill but has seen more and more lawmakers in his caucus announce their opposition as the vote nears.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Friday faced pointed questions from Canadian journalists over the seriousness of President Trump’s calls for Canada to become the 51st state, and the trade war with Ottawa that has plunged relations to a historic low. 

Rubio said Trump’s tariffs and pitch to annex Canada was not on the agenda of the Group of 7 foreign ministers meeting in Charlevoix, Quebec, but was pressed on the president’s antagonism toward America’s northern neighbor. 

Read the full story here.

Members of the Congressional Black Caucus have condemned the House-passed spending bill and vowed to vote against it as it comes up in the Senate, even as other Democrats say they’ll support it to avert a government shutdown.

All four Black Democratic senators said they will vote against the continuing resolution.

Sen. Lisa Blunt Rochester (Del.) said Democrats got a “dirty” deal from Republicans.

“I won’t vote to give away your voice,” said Blunt Rochester, adding that she is working to “save democracy.”

Sen. Raphael Warnock (Ga.) said Republicans gave Democrats an ultimatum that would either do “great damage” or force the government to shut down.

“Both of those options are terrible,” Warnock said in a video posted to social media. He added that he cannot support a “partisan bill” that cuts funding for health care, education and veterans, and increases the price of groceries.

“And here’s more: it gives this president who is clearly engaged in an unprecedented power grab even more power to exact more damage on the people of Georgia as he chooses winners and losers, what he wants to fund and what he does not,” Warnock added. 

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries declined to say whether he thinks it’s time for new leadership in the Senate.

“Next question,” Jeffries responded to a reporter’s question during a press conference.

A reporter asked later in the press conference whether Jeffries had lost confidence in Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.).

“Next question,” Jeffries responded.

Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly (D) says he’s looking for a “new ride” and is going to get rid of his Tesla, which he says was “built and designed by an a‑‑hole.”

“I’m here in Washington driving to work for the last time in my Tesla,” Kelly said in a video posted on the social platform X. “When I bought this thing, I didn’t think it was going to become a political issue.

“Every time I get in this car in the last 60 days or so, it reminds me of just how much Elon Musk and Donald Trump is doing to our country. Talking about slashing Social Security, cutting health care benefits for poor people, for seniors. It’s one bad thing after the next,” he said of Musk’s actions as the lead of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

Kelly also said Musk is firing veterans.

“I’m a veteran. So I have a really hard time driving around in this thing,” he said of his Tesla. “I think it’s time for an upgrade today.”

Read more here.

Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), the top Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee, says she will vote “no” on the stopgap funding bill.

“What Republicans are pushing here is not a continuing resolution. In this case, C-R stands for Complete Resignation. Republicans are ceding more discretion to two billionaires to decide what does and does not, get funded in their states,” she wrote on X. “It is a power grab CR. I will vote NO.”

Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.) says she’ll vote “no” on Republicans’ government funding bill.

“I cannot vote for an irresponsible and hyper-partisan bill that gives Trump and Musk even more power to hurt millions of Americans all while Congressional Republicans continue to push for cuts to Medicaid to pay for more tax breaks for the ultra-rich and giant corporations,” she said in a statement.

Rosen joins the list of swing state Democrats who have come out against the funding bill, including Jon Ossoff (Ga.), Raphael Warnock (Ga.), Elissa Slotkin (Mich.), Ruben Gallego (Ariz.) and Mark Kelly (Ariz.).