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Sonam Sheth

By Sonam Sheth

Evening Politics Editor

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Nine Democrats and one independent voted to advance a Republican stopgap bill to avert a government shutdown hours before a midnight deadline. One Democrat and one Independent later joined Republicans to shepherd the bill to final passage.

Why It Matters

Friday's vote caps days of drama, as Senate Democrats faced intense pressure from their House counterparts and the party's progressive wing to oppose the House GOP's bill, which would fund the government through September 30.

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Chuck Schumer

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What To Know

In an initial vote to invoke cloture—which refers to ending debate on a bill and moving to a final vote—the following Democrats broke ranks and voted to advance the continuing resolution (CR), which was backed by President Donald Trump:

Kentucky Senator Rand Paul was the only Republican who voted against invoking cloture.

The bill passed by a vote of 54-46 later Friday. The following Democrats voted in favor:

Paul once again voted no.

Schumer infuriated members of his party when he announced on Thursday that he would support the measure, which needed at least eight Democratic votes to overcome a 60-vote threshold and advance in the Senate.

The New York Democrat's announcement came just one day after he said Democrats would vote down the measure, saying that "Republicans do not have the votes in the Senate to invoke cloture on the House CR."

Schumer's reversal drew harsh blowback from some of the most powerful voices in the Democratic Party, including House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, California Representative and former House speaker Nancy Pelosi and New York Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

Every House Democrat, except one, voted against the Republican stopgap measure.

Schumer acknowledged the criticism he's getting from within the party, telling The New York Times on Friday: "I'll take some of the bullets."

"There is no off-ramp," for a government shutdown, Schumer told the Times. "The off-ramp is in the hands of Donald Trump and Elon Musk and DOGE. We could be in a shutdown for six months or nine months."

What People Are Saying

Schatz said in a statement announcing his intent to vote for the bill: "Today's vote on the continuing resolution was a difficult and close call, but ultimately, I made the determination that a flawed bill was better than no bill at all. A shutdown would enable Donald Trump and Elon Musk to unilaterally determine that the vast majority of federal workers are not essential. And given the number of federal workers in Hawai'i, mass furloughs would be deeply painful for people across the state."

Peters said in a statement: "This is a difficult choice, but with the deadline quickly approaching, I believe Congress must do its most basic job to keep the lights on. I voted to move this process forward and give the Senate a chance to take a vote so that agencies remain open."

Representative Becca Balint, a member of the House Judiciary Committee, highlighted House Democrats' disappointment over the vote, telling CNN: "I want to be really clear that the statements that have been made by me and others from my caucus are representative of the caucus as a whole. We also felt like Leader Schumer was not communicating well with our leader and we took some really tough votes. And this was such a show of strength and togetherness on the part of House Democrats and I felt like what we saw from Leader Schumer was disorganization on his part."

Ocasio-Cortez told reporters earlier this week: "This is about deep cuts to Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid...the evisceration of the federal government...codifying the looting that is happening at the behest of Elon Musk in order to pay for his tax breaks for billionaires. I think there is a deep sense of outrage and betrayal."

What Happens Next

Trump is expected to sign the bill on Friday to avoid a government shutdown.

Update 3/14/25 6:38 p.m. ET: This story was updated to include the final vote.

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