Democrats pressure Schumer, Senate to hold line on GOP spending bills

Source: The Hill

07/25/25 6:00 AM ET


House Democrats are cranking up the pressure on their Senate colleagues to hold the line against any Republican spending bills, warning that support for partisan legislation would prove more harmful than a potential shutdown — and trigger an outcry from the party’s already deflated base.

House Democrats were virtually united against a GOP spending package in March, only to see Senate Democrats — most notably Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) — help Republicans advance it into law. The episode infuriated Democrats in and out of Congress, eroded trust between the chambers and raised some questions about Schumer’s future at the top of the party.

Yet with another spending battle brewing for September — and Republicans already eyeing steep federal cuts anathema across the aisle — House Democrats are holding out hope that this time will be different. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) is already warning that a Republican-only spending package is “dead on arrival.” And even those lawmakers most critical of Schumer’s strategy in March are predicting the chambers will be united when the battle heats up ahead of the Oct. 1 shutdown deadline.

“Leader Jeffries putting that strong line down is something I support, and something I think that our whole party will rally around,” said Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), who had scorched Schumer’s handling of the earlier debate.

Read more: https://thehill.com/homenews/house/5419123-house-democrats-pressure-senate-spending/