Free Republic

Arizona Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs vetoed two budget proposals Wednesday, calling them partisan and reckless, as legislators near a deadline to reach a deal and avoid a state government shutdown. Her action comes after House Republicans indicated last week that a budget negotiated by the state Senate and Hobbs’ office lacked the needed votes in its chamber. The House instead introduced a budget to keep state operations running beyond June 30 and buy more time for negotiations. The chamber passed a separate budget earlier this month. “It cuts tuition, raises pay for law enforcement, fixes critical roads, and reins in...

Dozens of abortion clinics are shutting down — not just in states with bans, but in places where abortion remains fully legal, AP News reported June 17. Since the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision in 2022, at least 105 clinics have closed nationwide, according to the report. Strikingly, 65 of those closures happened in states without new abortion limits. While pro-abortion activists scramble to adapt, pro-life leaders see the trend as confirmation that the abortion industry is increasingly unsustainable. From waning donations to rising logistical costs, clinics are facing mounting challenges. “We’re all collectively struggling,” Ramsie Monk, who works with clinics...

So, according to this must-read thread below: The Peace Institute, a sinister US government agency that was just raided by DOGE and the FBI, was in cahoots with radical activists who have instigated recent campus uprisings. Anarchist protest toolkits “created and used” by “Beautiful Trouble” and cohorts including Lisa Fithian, “a lifelong advocate for violent protests, abolishing the police, dismantling the state [and who] guided Columbia University students to break into its building” were shared on USIP’s website as models for “change” and “peace.”

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) took a shot at Senate Minority Chuck Schumer (D-NY) on Tuesday for his controversial vote with Republicans last week to avert a government shutdown. Pelosi, during a press conference in San Francisco, affirmed that she had confidence in Schumer’s ability to lead the Democratic caucus in the Senate going forward, but argued that the Brooklyn Democrat made too many concessions to Republicans when he abruptly announced that he would vote to advance the GOP-crafted government funding bill. “I myself don’t give away anything for nothing,” Pelosi said. “I think that’s what happened the other...

MSNBC's "The Weekend" unloaded on Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., on Saturday over his support for the bill that keeps the government open and avoids a shutdown — calling the move a stain and a "black mark" on his leadership. MSNBC host Michael Steele asked his panel, "What are Republicans thinking right now about their ability to absolutely punk Schumer into making this move the way he did, when he knew that that's not where his party was?" Schumer supported the bill on Friday despite his numerous disagreements with the House-passed stopgap spending bill, arguing that a government shutdown would be...

On Friday’s broadcast of HBO’s “Real Time,” Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) stated that he would have preferred if Senate Minority Leader Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) had told Republicans “we need A., B., C., and D. for the Democratic Party and force the Republicans to meet him halfway on those issues and deliver something for the folks who are worried now” or else he’d vote for a government shutdown. Host Bill Maher asked, “Republicans proposed a budget and Chuck Schumer said he would vote for it and then did and got ten Democratic senators to vote with him. The other...

When Senator Chuck Schumer, Democrat of New York and the minority leader, announced that he would vote with Republicans to clear the way for passage of a stopgap spending bill, he argued that a government shutdown would further empower President Trump and Elon Musk to defund government programs and shrink federal agencies.“Under a shutdown, the Trump administration would have full authority to deem whole agencies, programs and personnel nonessential, furloughing staff with no promise that they would ever be rehired,” Mr. Schumer said on Thursday.But many Democrats, who were stunned and enraged by Mr. Schumer’s stance, argued that it was...

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., sidestepped questions on whether he had confidence in Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., on Friday. The top House Democrat was directly asked about Schumer twice during a hastily-announced press conference to emphasize their opposition to Republicans' government funding bill. Early during the press conference, Jeffries was asked if it was time for new leadership in the Senate, to which he replied, "Next question." Jeffries gave the same exact answer when asked later if he had "lost confidence" in Schumer. The bill passed, 62-38, averting a government shutdown. Many say it's a major public...

Nancy Pelosi built her career railing against government shutdowns, calling them reckless, cruel, and unnecessary. She blamed Republicans every time, saying they hurt families and federal workers. Now, suddenly, she’s cheering one on. Why? Because Trump and Musk are cutting the Democrats' out-of-control spending, and there’s nothing she can do to stop it. Pelosi doesn’t care about shutdowns—she cares about power. For years, she painted shutdowns as disasters. During the 2018-2019 standoff, she claimed, “Federal workers should not be pawns in this political game.” Now she’s telling Senate Democrats to kill a funding bill and let a shutdown happen. What...

A pair of Senate Democrats from a key battleground state on Thursday said that they would vote against the GOP’s six-month spending bill, raising questions about the possibility of a government shutdown when funding expires on Friday. Arizona Sens. Mark Kelly (D) and Ruben Gallego (D) said they will oppose both the spending bill itself and a procedural motion to advance the measure, which requires 60 votes. “I cannot vote for the Republican plan to give unchecked power to Donald Trump and Elon Musk,” Kelly said in a statement. “I told Arizonans I’d stand up when it was right for...

Senate Minority Leader Schumer says Senate Democrats will reject the House-passed government funding bill as a shutdown looms. NBC News' Julie Tsirkin reports the latest from Capitol Hill. USA Today Washington bureau chief Susan Page joins Ana Cabrera to weigh in on the potential political impact for Democrats

Remember the movie (or the novel) “Sophie’s Choice"? Meryl Streep won an Oscar for playing a woman whom the Nazis posed with a dilemma: choose one of her two children to send to the gas chamber, or else the Nazis would execute both of them. The choice haunted her after the war ended. It’s a heartrending thought, and, sure, it’s a bit extreme for a metaphor, but in the fight over this continuing resolution, the Democrats are faced with what I’ll call Schumer’s Choice. The fate of the government is in the hands of Democrat senators now, and neither choice...

Democrat Rep. Jasmine Crockett: We are shutting down the government to prevent federal layoffs

It's a realistic question: A shutdown means the executive branch can furlough all non-essential employees. But isn't that EXACTLY what DOGE is doing (among other audits). If that were the case, shouldn't we be encouraging the DEMS to vote for a shutdown, then let it play itself out? Or am I missing something?

Went to Grok and posted this query: What are the U.S. president's additional powers under (1) a government budget shutdown, as opposed to (2) Congress being declared in recess? Groke gave me a very detailed answer. Not posting the results here, as they would be harder to read without the formatting. But it's interesting. I included the link in case you want to check it for yourself.

Senate Democrats haven’t even surrendered yet on a government shutdown — but already White House officials are gloating about making them eat crow, almost taunting them to vote “no.” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer threw down the gauntlet Wednesday, proclaiming that Republicans don’t have the 60 votes needed to keep the government open past Friday. But President Donald Trump and senior White House officials are increasingly confident Schumer will release enough centrists to put up the votes for passage, according to multiple White House officials I spoke to over the past 24 hours. “They’re 100 percent gonna swallow it,” one...

We’re heading for a shutdown. On March 14, the government will close its doors, and it’s the fault of Senate Democrats who failed to advance the House’s six-month continuing resolution. They want to short-term CR this session to death and disrupt the GOP from their plans of passing a slew of crucial domestic items, like making the Trump tax cuts permanent, finishing the border wall, and securing our southern border. They also want to shut down the Department of Government Efficiency, whose work of uncovering wasteful spending and political class pork has hit close to home. Usually, I hate CRs,...

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer announced Wednesday that most Democrats in the upper chamber will not support a House Republican-passed bill to fund the federal government through the end of September, all but ensuring a partial shutdown beginning at 11:59 p.m. Friday. “Funding the government should be a bipartisan effort, but Republicans chose a partisan path, drafting their [continuing resolution] without any input — any input — from congressional Democrats,” Schumer (D-NY) said on the Senate floor Wednesday. “Because of that, Republicans do not have the votes in the Senate to invoke cloture on the House CR. Our caucus is...

What’s the argument for opposing the new CR being introduced by Speaker Mike Johnson this week? Other than being a continuing resolution, of course, which stink on ice. Congress has gotten into a bad habit over the past 20 years of failing to budget normally and properly. This year is no different, but in that same sense, this CR is both a necessity and better than all of the alternatives. This has been dysfunctional all along, but this isn’t a time to amplify it. First off, we're stuck with the CR process. That ship sailed last year, when Democrats controlled...

Senate Democrats have a fast-approaching dilemma: Vote for a spending bill unilaterally drafted by House Republicans or engage in the kind of shutdown brinkmanship they’ve long opposed. It isn’t a decision they’ll be able to put off for much longer. House GOP leaders are poised early next week to send a bill to the floor that would largely hold current spending levels in place through the end of September. Democrats don’t like this approach, arguing it would only further empower President Donald Trump and Elon Musk to continue to act beyond their authority in clawing back congressionally approved dollars. In...