Schumer Outplays Thune and Trump - Makes Good on Promise to Avoid Shutdown

On August 8, the Senate passed a bill to extend government funding through December 11. The bill passed 90-6, but before it goes into effect will need to be considered by the House upon its return from recess in September. Republicans in the House had passed their own version of the continuing resolution earlier in the summer, with a vote of 220-205. However, the House's version of continuing resolution was much more inline with administration priorities, including a loophole which would allow the transfer of funding provided for other programs to Border Patrol. Democrat Senators were able to strip this loophole from the Senate version, a move which Senator Patty Murray lauded in her statement on the release of the CR. Senate Democrat leadership expressed earlier in August their desire to fund the government while negotiating a strong bipartisan appropriation bill. This continuation of previous funding levels does just that, while legislative priorities previously touted by the White House, such as the SAVE America Act, were left by the wayside.