Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), who opposed the House-passed continuing resolution earlier this month, said she will back it when it comes to the Senate floor Tuesday.
“We’ve got mere hours before the end of the fiscal year, and so I’ve got no options now,” Murkowski said.
The Hill reported that on Sept. 20, Sen. Lisa Murkowski proposed a framework to keep the government open by extending ACA subsidies for a year and blocking the White House from reclaiming foreign aid funds. Though initially wary of the House-passed resolution, she said Tuesday she’ll switch her vote to “yes” to avoid a shutdown.
“I’m not interested in seeing a continued shutdown,” she said.
This comes after her initial statement Sept. 20 after the first Senate vote on the House bill: “Yesterday, I voted against two partisan proposals to temporarily fund the government that had no chance of clearing the 60-vote threshold in the Senate. With these votes, we demonstrated what we can’t do — now it’s time to focus on what we can do to avert a shutdown.”
🚨 BREAKING: Trump-endorsed spending bill to avert a government shutdown FAILS IN THE U.S. SENATE, 44-48. It needed 60 votes.
John Fetterman (D): YEA
Rand Paul (R): NAY
Lisa Murkowski (R): NAYSHUTDOWN becomes more likely now October 1st unless they work something out. pic.twitter.com/tijrmHsEfT
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) September 19, 2025
With Murkowski’s flip, Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) is the lone Republican expected to oppose the House stopgap, citing its Biden-era funding levels. This marks the Senate’s second attempt to pass the measure after falling short of GOP support earlier this month. Without a funding deal, the government will shut down early Wednesday, triggering office closures and an uncertain number of layoffs.
