Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) is sounding the alarm over what he calls a growing risk of a Democrat-led government shutdown this fall, accusing Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) of pandering to the far-left base of his party.
Appearing on Sunday Morning Futures, Thune discussed the ongoing effort to pass a dozen spending bills ahead of the September 30 funding deadline. While Republicans continue advancing appropriations through regular order, Thune warned that Democrats have shown little interest in working across the aisle — a trend he attributes to lingering “Trump Derangement Syndrome.”
“They haven’t demonstrated much of a willingness on anything so far,” Thune told host Maria Bartiromo. “It’s obstruct, delay, block. That’s been the pattern.”
Tensions between the parties flared earlier this month after Congress passed a $9 billion rescissions package targeting foreign aid and public broadcasting — a major win for President Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) initiative. The bill passed using a process that avoided the 60-vote filibuster threshold in the Senate, prompting a furious reaction from Schumer.
“If Republicans cave to Donald Trump and gut these investments agreed to by both parties, that would be an affront — a huge affront — to the bipartisan appropriations process,” Schumer said on the Senate floor, warning Democrats won’t support funding bills that reverse past agreements.
Asked whether Schumer and Senate Democrats might deliberately engineer a government shutdown in October, Thune didn’t rule it out. “I think he probably thinks it’s beneficial to their political base, the far left of the Democrat Party,” Thune said. “This is a party that’s completely out of step with the mainstream of this country.”
Thune pointed to recent political shifts in New York, including the rise of socialist candidates like Zohran Mamdani, as evidence of the Democrats’ internal drift toward the radical left.
While Republicans are focused on fiscal discipline and delivering results for the American people, Thune warned that Democrats may be willing to risk a shutdown if it means appeasing their activist base.
“Keeping the government funded is good for the country,” Thune concluded. “But if their recent track record is any indication, they’re under a tremendous amount of pressure from the far left to shut it down.”
The post Thune Warns Schumer May Cave to Far Left, Push for Government Shutdown appeared first on Real News Now.
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