Kaine, Warner say they will oppose House funding bill

Virginia’s Democratic senators say they will oppose the House plan to fund the government, putting the bill on an increasingly uphill path in the Senate.

“We oppose the House Continuing Resolution, which punts budget discussions until mid-February,” Sens. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine said in a joint statement Thursday.

“Republican leadership has to get serious about finding a budget deal and quit relying on short-term patches.”

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has almost no room for error to pass the funding bill through his chamber, assuming it first passes the House 

With two GOP senators already opposed, he will need at least 11 Democratic senators to support the continuing resolution (CR) for it to pass.

Kaine and Warner both supported a December funding bill. Now that they have come out against the latest spending patch, there are 12 Democratic senators on the fence, according to The Hill’s whip count.

Congress has until midnight Friday to prevent a shutdown. 

Democrats argue the House bill doesn’t address a myriad of issues, though the stalemate on what to do about immigration has emerged as the key sticking point. 

Warner and Kaine said in their statement that Congress should stay in town until they get a larger budget deal. 

“We will support a short-term CR for a few days to keep the government open while we stay in town and conclude our negotiations,” they said.