House Dems Signal Willingness to Shut Down Government

House Democrats are signaling their unwillingness to cooperate with the stopgap funding bill that will fund the government at current levels through the end of September.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., Democratic Whip Katherine Clark, D-Mass., and Democratic Caucus Chair Pete Aguilar, D-Calif., on Saturday said Democrats won't be voting for the bill, while Rep. Brendan Boyle, D-Pa., went further, telling MSNBC Sunday that Democrats would be willing to shut down the government to save it.

"Just to set the stage for this, I want to make it clear that Republicans control the House, Republicans control the Senate, and they, of course, control the White House," Boyle told MSNBC.

"If there is a government shutdown, it will be because Republicans want one. That's number one. Number two, we are already in a government shutdown or at least a partial government shutdown."

"That's the case of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. That's the case at USAID. That's the case for researchers right here in Philadelphia who had been relying on NIH grants in order to research cancer. All of that has immediately dried up thanks to the illegal actions of this administration, led by Elon Musk."

"So, my position is exactly the same as Leader Jeffries and my colleague Rosa DeLauro [D-Conn.] and my other Democratic colleagues. We want to fix all of this. But certainly, if we don't believe that we have a willing partner on the other side — it's quite clear right now we don't — then we need to stay united and not bail out President [Donald] Trump and Speaker [Mike] Johnson."

Clark in a notice sent to lawmakers last week said Democrats "are urged to VOTE NO on the [continuing resolution]."

"The CR would remove most guardrails that direct where funds should be spent. It would allow the White House to accelerate its dismantling of critical services," the notice read.

"The bill does include Community Project Funding," it added.

Johnson, though, is plowing ahead with the GOP plan and is set to hold a vote in the House on Tuesday.

Republicans need near-unanimous support, meaning Johnson can only afford to lose one defection if all members are present and voting.

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