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Senate Democrats joined Republicans on Friday in a key procedural vote to advance a bill that would ultimately avoid a midnight government shutdown, despite intensifying pressure from across the Democratic Party to block the budget.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and nine others voted to advance the House-passed spending bill on a final vote, with President Donald Trump himself praising Schumer for the move. Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky was the only Republican to vote against advancing the measure that would fund the government through Sept. 30.
Outside Schumer's leadership team, many Senate Democrats, as well as House Democrats, are frustrated by the move, which they see as a capitulation to the party's first point of real leverage in Trump's second term.
The Senate Democratic leader has argued that his party had only bad options when it came to shutting down the government — possibly for months — to defy Trump, or accepting a GOP bill that Democrats have warned would cut spending on programs like veterans' health care or Washington, D.C., firefighters and police.
Republicans and Democrats must now negotiate a time frame to vote on final approval of the package before the midnight deadline, as Schumer and his leadership continue to face intense anger from the Democratic base.
The initial vote, though procedural, was closely watched by Democrats across the country, who saw it as a test of their party leaders' willingness to fight Trump.
With the encouragement of prominent Democrats like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, voters had flooded senators' offices with calls urging them to block the bill and confront Trump over the federal government shutdown. Ultimately, many Democrats believe Schumer failed that test.
The New York Democrat's strategy has faced fierce criticism from all sides of the Democratic Party, including his own chamber, although no senator has publicly said they would challenge his leadership on the measure.
Pressure mounted on Senate Republicans earlier in the week after the House of Representatives passed the Trump-backed funding measure on Tuesday.
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