House Democrats push to sink GOP spending bill but Senate Dems act coy

Politics

House Democrats push to sink GOP spending bill but Senate Dems act coy

London talks aimed at securing a ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia have been downgraded and will no longer include US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and special envoy Steve Witkoff.

By Arman – News Editor

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The House CR is a very bad bill,” Sen. Tim Kaine, who represents a large share of federal workers in Virginia, said when asked if he would support the GOP’s stopgap bill, known as a continuing resolution.

Kaine was among many Democratic senators on Monday who repeatedly slammed the House GOP bill, though didn’t oppose it outright. When asked about the choice Senate Democrats would have to make — either accept the House bill or risk a shutdown — Kaine cut off a reporter’s question and then declined to answer: “I’m not answering ‘if’ questions. I’m answering ‘what do I think of the bill?’ It’s a bad bill.”

And Georgia Sen. Jon Ossoff, who faces a potentially tough reelection next year, told CNN a shutdown is “not in our nation’s interests” and “we will see what comes out of the House.”

Exasperated Democrats on both sides of the Capitol privately feel like they are operating with little clarity of the other’s strategy. House Democrats are growing impatient as top Senate Democrats, including Schumer, have yet to lay out their position. It’s not just rank and file: Schumer has not briefed Jeffries on his plans, according to a Democratic lawmaker close to Jeffries.

A Schumer spokesperson told CNN that “Leader Schumer and Leader Jeffries are in constant communication.”

Many House Democrats said their Senate counterparts need to channel their base’s intense anger at the White House for its wide scale federal layoffs, plans to dismantle key agencies and planned cuts to safety net programs — or risk handing Trump even more power while further infuriating their base.