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From NBC NEWS: Senate Republicans teamed up with a small band of Democrats on Friday to advance a stopgap funding bill, clearing the path for a final vote to avert a government shutdown.
The bill cleared a key procedural hurdle on a 62-38 vote, with 10 Democrats joining all but one Republican in voting in favor. Sixty votes were needed to overcome a filibuster.
The vote came after a dramatic 48 hours during which Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., broke with most House and Senate Democrats, announcing he would support moving forward on the bill one day after he declared it didn’t have the votes.
The Senate is now expected to hold a final vote on the six-month funding extension later Friday, where a simple majority is needed for passage before it can head to President Donald Trump for his signature. The bill cleared the House on a party-line vote earlier this week. Government funding is set to lapse after midnight Friday.
10 Democrats voted in favor of advancing the bill: Sens. Catherine Cortez-Masto (NV), Dick Durbin (IL), John Fetterman (PA), Kirsten Gillibrand (NY), Maggie Hassan (NH), Angus King (I-ME), Gary Peters (MI), Brian Schatz (HI), Chuck Schumer (NY) and Jeanne Shaheen (NH).
One Republican, Sen. Rand Paul (Ky.) voted “no”.
10 Democrats voted in favor: Sens. Catherine Cortez-Masto (NV), Dick Durbin (IL), John Fetterman (PA), Kirsten Gillibrand (NY), Maggie Hassan (NH), Angus King (I-ME), Gary Peters (MI), Brian Schatz (HI), Chuck Schumer (NY) and Jeanne Shaheen (NH).
— CSPAN (@cspan) March 14, 2025
Meanwhile, Sen. Rand Paul delivered a speech from the Senate floor and explained, “Someone must make cuts to the budget. That’s why today I’m forcing the Senate to vote on my DOGE 1.0 Amendment to codify the cuts made by @elonmusk and @DOGE.”
Someone must make cuts to the budget. That’s why today I’m forcing the Senate to vote on my DOGE 1.0 Amendment to codify the cuts made by @elonmusk and @DOGE. pic.twitter.com/YMU6Iwjl4s
— Senator Rand Paul (@SenRandPaul) March 14, 2025
This comes after Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer first vowed to defeat the bill and allow the government to go into shutdown mode, then backtracked on Thursday and said he would vote to support the bill, as a shutdown would be worse.
Schumer is now being lambasted by many of his fellow Democrats, and speculation is rising that Democrat Socialist Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez may try to run against him when he is up for re-election in 2028. He has held the seat since 1999.
BREAKING: Schumer caves to Republicans in government shutdown standoff
FEUDING DEMOCRATS: AOC, Pelosi, other Dems turn on Schumer for caving to Republicans
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