Sen. Elizabeth Warren said Tuesday she’ll vote against the Senate’s first batch of government funding bills, signaling early hardball by Democrats ahead of a shutdown deadline 10 weeks away.
In a statement, the Massachusetts Democrat and progressive standard-bearer cited Trump administration moves to cut and freeze VA funding as the reason for opposing bipartisan funding bills on the Senate floor this week.
Warren is the top Democrat on a subcommittee focused on military personnel. One of the funding measures on tap is for the VA and military infrastructure programs; it previously sailed through the panel in an overwhelmingly bipartisan vote.
“The Trump administration’s actions are disgraceful — freezing VA grants, cutting funds for veterans’ suicide prevention, stripping support for veteran homelessness, firing VA workers, gutting programs to help veterans avoid foreclosure and get mental health support in times of crisis,” Warren said. “Nothing in this bill puts a stop to those actions.”
Since January, about 17,000 VA jobs have been vacated through retirements, resignations and hiring freezes, with that number expected to grow in the coming months.
Warren is also drawing a red line that other Democrats have started to put down. Republicans shouldn’t expect Democrats’ cooperation on keeping the government open, she argues, if GOP lawmakers support President Donald Trump’s escalating attempts to take unilateral action on funding decisions traditionally led by Congress.
“I cannot in good conscience support this funding bill while the Trump administration illegally withholds funding for programs appropriated by Congress for veterans in need and Republicans unilaterally claw back bipartisan funding that Donald Trump doesn’t like,” Warren said.
Democrats are huddling for their weekly lunch Tuesday ahead of the first procedural vote on the appropriations package later in the afternoon. The “mini-bus” could include bills that would fund Capitol Hill operations, federal agriculture programs and the FDA.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer is expected to lead his caucus in a discussion about whether Democratic senators want to help Republicans shore up the 60 votes necessary to bring the minibus to the floor.
