All eyes are shifting to House Republicans as Democrats harden their opposition against passing a long-term continuing resolution, which could potentially legitimize some of billionaire Elon Musk and President Donald Trump’s efforts to seize spending power and impose unilateral cuts to government programs.
Earlier this month, negotiations between Democrats and Republicans in Congress broke down after Democrats demanded that any continuing resolution reaffirm Congress’s constitutionally delegated power of the purse. Republicans, meanwhile, waffled on whether a spending bill should include the changes to government agencies that Musk, a Republican mega-donor, has pushed through with Trump’s blessing.
House Speaker Mike Johnson has described these cuts as “anomalies” that he might seek to have added to a so-called “clean” continuing resolution at different times. As it stands, it’s not clear whether a bill will or will not include all these “anomalies” because the text is not yet available (The Hill reports that Johnson hopes to make it available by Friday).
When talks between the two parties broke down, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said that Democrats remained willing to work with Republicans on a continuing resolution but wouldn’t support one “that fails to protect the quality of life of the American people, most importantly with respect to Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid.”
The continuing resolution would extend the current federal budget, potentially through the end of this fiscal year. The measure is traditionally used as a stopgap to allow more time for negotiations and is distinct from the normal budgetary process. The budget for fiscal year 2026, in which Republicans are angling to make drastic cuts to Medicaid and nutritional assistance, is moving in parallel to the continuing resolution negotiations.
Now it’s becoming clearer that, in real terms, the opposition espoused by Jeffries likely means that Democrats won’t support the sort of long-term continuing resolution that Republicans are currently pursuing because it could give Musk and Trump further discretion over the budget. Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., who serves as vice chair on the Senate Appropriations Committee, described this position in remarks on the floor of the Senate.
“We cannot stand by and accept a yearlong power grab CR that would help Elon take a chainsaw to programs that families rely on and agencies that keep our communities safe,” Murray said Tuesday. “I have heard my House Republican colleagues say they will not restrict a Republican president’s powers. I want to be clear: What I am asking for is to work together to make sure that as we write and negotiate these full-year spending bills, our laws get followed. I welcome, and I want everyone to know, I am open to any and all ideas on how we can work together to do that.”
The top Republican on the Senate Appropriations Committee, Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, has expressed similar concerns over Musk and Trump’s power grab, saying in a February interview with Politico that “I think it’s pretty clear that this violates Article One of the Constitution,” though later adding that it was up to the courts, not her, to do something about Trump and Musk’s undermining of congressional authority. Collins did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Salon.
Some Democrats, however, have indicated an openness to collaborating with Republicans on a long-term continuing resolution, despite its potential to further empower Trump and Musk. They include Sens. John Fetterman, D-Pa., Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H. and Mark Warner, D-Va.
“I will never vote for or withhold my vote to shut the government down. That’s chaos and I’ll never vote for chaos,” Fetterman told Punchbowl News.
In terms of a path forward, Democrats like Murray have indicated that a short-term continuing resolution is something that they would support if it were a stepping stone to passing a full-year spending bill. Collins has said that she is also preparing a short-term bill in case the long-term one falls through.
Democratic staffers, however, point out that any negotiations depend on the outcome of Johnson’s expected attempt to push through a year-long continuing resolution along party lines. With the Republicans’ current 218 to 215 seat majority, the GOP can only afford to lose one vote if they want to pass a bill along party lines in the House. Rep. Don Bacon, R- Neb., has already expressed his opposition to a year-long continuing resolution, one more defection would then force Republicans to seek Democratic votes. Other Republicans have indicated that they have reservations about voting for anything except a “clean” continuing resolution, even as other members of their party look to add legislative riders to the bill.
At the same timem Musk, who has emerged as a key Republican power broker, seems to support a government shutdown, posting last week on X that a March closure “sounds great.” One undercurrent pointed out by Democrats is that in the shutdown process, the Office of Management and Budget and the Justice Department have considerable influence over which government employees work through a shutdown and which employees are furloughed. For example, employees who cut checks for benefits programs have traditionally worked through a shutdown, though it’s the OMB and DOJ that ultimately decide what work is required by “necessary implication” of the law — and they could change that guidance.
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