Schumer: GOP plan to avoid shutdown won’t pass the Senate

Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) is warning that a plan by House Republicans to attach a full year of defense funding to a short-term bill for the rest of the government is a nonstarter in the Senate.

“Sending a cromnibus to the Senate, one that just funded defense and cut programs crucial to the middle class, would be barreling head-first into a dead-end,” he said, referring to a cross between an omnibus spending bill and short-term continuing resolution (CR) to keep the government open. 

He added that moving forward with the plan would be letting the conservative Freedom Caucus “be the tail that wags the dog” and undercut talks aimed at reaching a larger agreement. 

“There’s no way we’ll reach an agreement that can pass the Senate. And it would jeopardize the positive discussions going on right now about the budget, immigration, disaster aid and more,” he said. 

Congress has until Thursday to stop what would be the second government shutdown of the year.

Sources told The Hill on Monday that Republicans are planning to attach funding for the rest of the 2018 fiscal year for the Pentagon to funding through late March for the rest of the government.

The move would appease defense hawks and conservatives who become increasingly frustrated about passing stopgap measure after stopgap measure. 

But Republicans need the support of at least nine Senate Democrats to get that bill through the Senate.

The House’s plan comes as GOP aides separately said they expect the Senate to take up a House-passed defense funding bill this week.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) hasn’t specified when the legislation will come up for a vote except to say that it will happen “soon.”