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Patty Murray signals Democratic willingness to accept short-term funding measure to avoid October government shutdown

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and top appropriator Patty Murray signaled that Democrats are prepared to accept a short-term stopgap spending measure to avoid a government shutdown at the end of September. While the House Republicans passed a short-term funding package, Democrats expressed concerns regarding the lack of restrictions on how the administration announced funding moves. Patty Murray is currently working with Senate Republicans to draft a bipartisan measure that would extend funding into December. This move allows lawmakers to time to negotiate full spending bills for 2027. However, some progressive Democrats are urging the party to hold the line on ICE funding until they receive concessions from the administration. The negotiations also involve a debate over a new rule proposed by the administration to replace the peer-review process for awarding billions of dollars in grants. Senate Appropriations Chair Susan Collins and several other Republicans and Democrats have voiced opposition to the rule, seeking to use the funding bill to block or delay the political appointment of political appointees in charge of approving grants.

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