Senate Democrats rejected for the 10th time Thursday a stopgap spending bill that would reopen the government, insisting they won’t back away from demands that Congress take up health care benefits.
The vote failed Thursday morning on a 51-45 vote, well short of the 60 needed to advance with the Senate’s filibuster rules.
The repetition of votes on the funding bill has become a daily drumbeat in Congress, underscoring how intractable the situation has become. It has been at times the only item on the agenda for the Senate floor, while House Republicans have left Washington altogether. The standoff has lasted over two weeks, leaving hundreds of thousands of federal workers furloughed, even more without a guaranteed payday and Congress essentially paralyzed.
I don’t even care that they’re blaming it on Democrats. Dems SHOULD own this, and brag about it. Dems should be telling the American people: “These MAGA psychopaths want to take away your health care tax breaks, which you literally need to live, so they can give MORE tax breaks to the wealthy, who don’t need it.”