House Democratic leaders are slated to hold a press conference as their counterparts in the Senate face down a nail-biter vote on government funding.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) and his leadership team have urged Senate Democrats to hold firm and block a GOP-written six-month stopgap funding bill that passed the House earlier this week. The measure needs eight Democratic votes to overcome the Senate filibuster.
But Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) announced Thursday he would vote to advance the measure, infuriating liberals in both chambers and House Democrats from across the ideological spectrum, who voted almost unanimously against the bill when it passed the lower chamber.
Still, a number of swing state Democrats in the Senate have vowed to oppose the bill. Government funding expires at midnight if Congress isn’t able to pass a stopgap.
The press conference is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. EDT.