Senate Republicans accused Democrats of refusing to fund government agencies past Sept. 30, ramping up pressure to advance stalled annual spending bills before the midterm elections.
“What Chuck Schumer and the Democrats want more than anything else is another government shutdown,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) told reporters. “The Democrats don’t want to play ball on the normal appropriations process.”
Senate Appropriations Chair Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Vice Chair Patty Murray (D-Wash.) have been trading offers on a topline split on discretionary spending between defense and nondefense priorities. President Donald Trump’s demand for a $1.5 trillion defense budget, which ...
