The two Democratic U.S. senators from Arizona voted no on a Republican government spending bill that would have avoided a government shutdown this weekend.
NPR reports Senate Democrats face a dilemma as the clock ticks down to a government shutdown at midnight on Friday: help Republicans pass a bill to avoid a shutdown or block the bill and be blamed for triggering one.
U.S. Sen. Ruben Gallego and U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly said they will vote no as a yes vote would enable Trump and Elon Musk to continue to cut jobs, programs and departments at an alarming rate.
In a released statement, Sen. Gallego said "this is a bad resolution that gives Elon Musk and his cronies permission to continue cutting veterans’ benefits, slashes resources for Arizona’s water needs and abandons our wildland firefighters. I can’t stand by that, and that’s why I’m voting no. We must come together to pass a bipartisan solution—I'm committed to putting in the work to do that—but this resolution is a grab bag of extreme policies that harms Arizona families.”
Sen. Kelly also said government efficiency is welcome but not at the cutthroat rate Trump and Musk have been acting on.
Kelly said "From VA (Department of Veterans Affairs) care for veterans to Social Security for seniors to the National Park Service, Elon Musk and President Trump are blowing up parts of the United States Government that benefit American citizens every single day. I took an oath to protect the constitution. I cannot vote for the Republican plan to give unchecked power to Donald Trump and Elon Musk. I cannot give permission for inflation-causing tariffs and firing thousands of veterans, things that are already having devastating effects on Arizonans and Americans."
On Wednesday, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said Republicans don't have the 60 votes needed to get around a filibuster on the bill known as the continuing resolution that passed the U.S. House. Schumer called for a monthlong plan that would keep agencies funded at current levels through April 11 as both parties negotiate on the annual spending bills.
This alternative would give Democrats the chance to say they are working to avoid any lapse in government funding.
The Yuma Airshow scheduled for Saturday could be cancelled if a budget is not passed as Marine Corps Air Station Yuma depends on federal funding.
