Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) has pledged his support for a Republican spending bill, acknowledging its flaws but arguing that shutting down the government is not an option.
“The only time we had any leverage … [was if] the Republican needed our votes in the House,” Fetterman said, according to Jake Sherman of Punchbowl News. “The GOP delivered and that effectively iced us out and that forces us to say, are you gonna shut the government down? Or are you gonna vote for a flawed CR? And now for me, I refuse to shut the government down.”
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Fetterman’s stance underscores a growing divide among Democrats as they debate whether to oppose the GOP’s continuing resolution (CR), which keeps the government funded but includes significant spending cuts.
Moderate Democrats, including Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ), have expressed opposition to the bill, even if it results in a government shutdown. Kelly specifically cited spending cuts spearheaded by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) as a primary reason for his dissent.
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“I cannot vote for the Republican plan to give unchecked power to Donald Trump and Elon Musk,” Kelly wrote on X. “I told Arizonans I’d stand up when it was right for our state and our country, and this is one of those moments.”
The division within the Democratic caucus highlights the difficult choices lawmakers face as they navigate funding negotiations. With Fetterman supporting the bill to avoid a shutdown and others, like Kelly, firmly opposed due to concerns over executive overreach, the debate over government funding remains a contentious issue on Capitol Hill.
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