Democrats Considering Government Shutdown Over Trump’s DOGE Activity, Senator Reveals
Members of Congress have until mid-March to pass a funding bill.
A Democratic senator expressed that he and his colleagues are prepared to consider a government shutdown in March if President Donald Trump’s recent initiatives to reduce the size of the federal government persist.
The Trump administration has committed to eliminating fraud, waste, and abuse across various federal agencies, an initiative currently spearheaded by Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
“We’re going to identify billions, even hundreds of billions of dollars in fraud and abuse, and the people elected me for this purpose,” Trump remarked in a Fox News interview on Sunday. He praised Musk as “terrific” and indicated plans to turn attention to the Department of Defense, which is the largest government agency.
Congress has until mid-March to pass legislation to fund the government, encompassing budgets for both military and non-defense programs. With Democrats holding minority positions in both the House and Senate, Trump is familiar with government shutdowns, having experienced one that lasted over a month from December 2018 to January 2019.
“In the coming weeks, Republicans will need to strategize their next steps; for the last two years, they have required Democratic votes for every continuing resolution, and they should not rely on that this time,” Kim mentioned in the interview, referring to a type of bill that provides temporary funding to the government.
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Democrats, according to Kim, are prepared to oppose Republicans if the Trump administration continues its actions against government agencies, such as the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Department of Education.
“They are merely attempting to dismantle the government,” Kim asserted.
“It’s going to be increasingly difficult for us to collaborate since trust between us is diminishing.”
Meanwhile, Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) told CNN that his party must utilize “every point of leverage available to us” to influence Trump, yet acknowledged that “nobody desires a shutdown.” He mentioned that the Democrats “have leverage” but did not provide further details.
“Democrat leadership is setting the groundwork for a government shutdown, spreading disinformation and overreacting to the DOGE initiative, as well as House Republicans’ attempts to curb the influx of fentanyl into” the country, his office asserted in a statement last week.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) signaled that House Democrats are not prioritizing blocking DOGE from accessing government payment systems.
“Bipartisan negotiations are currently ongoing to achieve a spending agreement that serves the American people’s needs,” Jeffries remarked to CNN on Sunday. “I have encouraged these bipartisan discussions to proceed.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
