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Senate GOP, Thune throw curveball into shutdown fight

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) is throwing a wrench into the shutdown fight as he plans to introduce a full-year spending bill for the Pentagon on Thursday, effectively encouraging Democrats to oppose it as part of efforts to keep health care at the forefront of the stalemate.

Democrats are almost completely united against the GOP’s “clean” bill that would fund the government through Nov. 21. The Senate voted for the ninth time against the House-passed continuation resolution on Wednesday, and another vote on the interim solution is expected on Thursday.

But Thursday’s vote on the Defense bill represents more of a gamble, and leaders on Wednesday largely said they haven’t yet decided what to do.

The full-year bill was the result of a bipartisan appropriations process and passed out of committee on a 26-3 vote earlier this year. And it will fund military paychecks that could be in jeopardy again if the shutdown continues through the end of the month.

At the same time, Democrats want to appear firm in their opposition to the Trump administration, noting that Republicans have received no guarantees about what they will include in the Defense bill after clearing Thursday’s procedural hurdle.

“It looks like a tough vote,” Thune told The Hill on Wednesday. “Because they all say they want a normal appropriations process, and we’re trying to give them that process. I understand we’re in the middle of a shutdown right now, and that creates a complicated dynamic here.”

“We need to go through the appropriations process both ways,” Thune said. “If we’re sitting here voting every day and they’re continuing to vote to keep the government shut down, we need to try to move the needle on some of the other work we need to do.”

Along with the Pentagon spending bill, the Senate is also preparing to consider a measure that would allow lawmakers to conference with the House of Representatives on the “van” issue, a trio of bills greenlit at the beginning of the year. Thune and Senate Republicans are also considering adding a number of other spending bills to the Pentagon legislation.

These include bills to fund the Labor and Health and Human Services departments in a bid to win over Democrats. Senate Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Susan Collins (R-Maine) also told reporters she hopes to include a separate bill for the Commerce and Justice departments and science agencies along with the bill providing funding for the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development departments.

But whether Democrats will play ball is an important question. Several key party leaders objected when pressed on Wednesday about how they would conduct the vote.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (DY) said Democrats should see what Republicans will try to add to the bill before deciding.

“We don’t know what they’re going to propose yet,” said Sen. Patty Murray (Wash.), a leading Democratic proponent. “Let’s see what they will do tomorrow.”

The Senate will technically vote on the House-passed Defense appropriations bill, but only as an instrument. That language is expected to be replaced in the Senate version, along with other funding bills the two parties have agreed to.

If the bill eliminates the procedural obstacle, the Parliament will move on to a new article; However, this will require the approval of the entire Parliament.

This too remains a windfall, especially as Democrats continue to cry foul over the possibility that the Trump administration will take further steps to roll back partisan-based funding that passed the Senate with bipartisan support.

“But the best I can tell is that Patty Murray has been shown no hint of bipartisan cooperation or willingness to put any barriers around what they plan to do,” said Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.). “I think at this point we’ve been shown nothing, so there’s no reason to vote yet.”

“What we needed was broader agreement on how the allocation process would proceed, so it was clear that our priorities were respected,” he added.

Seizing Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) has recently supported moving all-year items, especially because they include Democratic gains. Still, he’s sticking to the party line as he awaits the final word on what will be added.

“I think that’s helpful. My understanding is that there will be other bills that will be put forward and if we have the commitment to move forward with appropriations, that will help us,” he said, declining to say whether he was “yes” or “no.”

A failed reckoning on the defense bill would also leave Democrats open to attacks to block future payments to military members, which are due again within two weeks after the Trump administration announced on Wednesday that it plans to pay with $8 billion in unused research and development funds.

In the House, Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said Wednesday he would not bring the lower chamber back to vote on the Pentagon’s full-year bill until the government reopens, while expressing doubt that the measure would still pass the Senate.

The Senate bill has some notable differences from the House version, which the lower house must approve. Johnson kept the House of Representatives out of Washington, D.C., for the duration of the shutdown in an effort to pressure Senate Democrats.

“My suspicion is that the Democrats will play the same political games and stop this cold,” Johnson said. “I hope I’m surprised by that.”

Senate Republicans, meanwhile, are determined that Democrats support the measure. They noted on Wednesday that the bill was overwhelmingly passed in late July and that the current situation should change little in how they view the funding item.

“This is a bill that passed out of committee on a 26-3 vote,” Senate Majority Rep. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) told The Hill. “You think you can’t get a bill out of committee that passed by a vote of 26 to 3 and would change the Democrats’ minds?”

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