Democrats (for a change) have no appetite for dragging the country through another government shutdown this fall, right before the midterm elections. The Senate moved forward Monday with a plan to keep the government funded past the midterms, and the continuing resolution cleared a procedural hurdle Monday evening in an 89-4 vote. Senators hope to pass the measure before leaving town for the August recess later this week.
Naturally, Democrats are treating it like a win.
Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), the top Democrat appropriator in the Senate, praised the measure as a “much-improved CR to keep the government funded and avert a shutdown that no one wants,” and pointed to provisions her party secured in the Senate version.
“This bill includes important extensions and language that House Republicans’ CR did not, and it rejects Trump’s frivolous war spending wish list,” Murray said in a statement. “Importantly, we closed the loophole in House Republicans’ CR that would have allowed the Trump administration to transfer funding provided for other programs to Border Patrol, which desperately needs reform, not more money.”
Sure, Patty. If declaring victory over a bill that 89 senators voted to advance helps you sleep at night, knock yourself out.
Still, it looks like we won’t have a distracting shutdown before the midterm elections. Even House and Senate Republicans appear to be on the same page this time around. But that doesn’t mean everyone in the GOP is thrilled with how things are going in the upper chamber.
ICYMI: Greg Gutfeld Just Exposed Exactly How the Democrat Party Lost Its Values
Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) took aim at Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) on Monday over his decision to focus on confirming President Donald Trump’s nominees instead of working on a budget. Kennedy called it a “huge mistake” in an interview with Punchbowl News’ Andrew Desiderio.
Sen. Kennedy says Thune is making a “huge mistake” if he doesn’t turn to the budget resolution soon, and knocked the majority leader for his floor speech today touting Senate Republicans’ historic pace of confirming Trump’s nominees
Kennedy said that when he’s talking to voters…
— Andrew Desiderio (@AndrewDesiderio) August 3, 2026
“You know one of the things I never say? I never look those people in the eyes and say, ‘We set a record for the number of nominees confirmed.’ I’ve never said that. And I don’t think any other senator has ever said that,” Kennedy said, describing what he tells voters and fellow Republican candidates on the campaign trail. “Because I don’t think the American people care.”
Kennedy has a point. Voters back home want to know what the Senate is doing about spending, the border, and the economy. Your average voter isn’t thinking about confirmation statistics.
For months, Senate Republicans have essentially scoffed at Trump’s policy demands, particularly his push to pass the SAVE America Act, the most important election integrity legislation in history, as far as I’m concerned. At least one senator is unhappy that the funding deal does nothing to advance it, which means the fight over that bill is coming sooner or later, shutdown or no shutdown.
On the plus side, no shutdown means no weeks of breathless media coverage blaming the GOP for shuttered parks and delayed paychecks. Would it be nice for the SAVE America Act to get its moment? Sure, but heading into the fall, Democrats would certainly have taken us into a shutdown if it had been included.
Editor’s Note: The 2026 Midterms will determine the fate of President Trump’s America First agenda. Republicans must maintain control of both chambers of Congress.
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