Virginia Senate colleagues Sens. Mark Warner (D-VA) and Tim Kaine (D-VA) won’t support the House’s continuing resolution that would fund the government for another month, and, in a statement Thursday afternoon, the pair criticized President Trump for his “repeated statements urging a government shutdown.”
“The current CR ignores key priorities — community health centers, permanent protection for Dreamers, emergency relief for Florida, Texas, western states ravaged by wildfires, Puerto Rico, the USVI, opioid treatment, and pension reform,” they said in the statement.
“The President’s repeated statements urging a government shutdown are beneath the office and have heightened the budgetary dysfunction,” the senators continued. “And his determined efforts to blow up any and all bipartisan discussions around Dreamers demonstrate that he is not interested in governing. He has to decide whether he wants to be President and engage in necessary compromise, or continue offering commentary from the sidelines.”
Rather than punting long-term budget discussions to February, the senators suggested that Congress stay in session until it can agree on a bipartisan long-term deal. They said they’d support a “short term” continuing resolution to keep the government open for a few days “while we stay in town and conclude our negotiations.”
House leaders had planned to vote on a 30-day resolution Thursday that would include funding for the CHIP program as a way to force Democrats’ hands, but the President threw a wrench in those plans Thursday when he tweeted that “CHIP should be part of a long term solution, not a 30 Day, or short term, extension!”
Despite the cryptic tweet, Speaker of the House Paul Ryan (R-WI) told reporters on Thursday that Trump “fully supports” House Republicans’ short-term funding bill.
