Senate Republicans Seek to Avoid Shutdown Fight Ahead of Midterms

According to Axios, Senate Republicans are discussing ways to prevent a government shutdown ahead of the Sept. 30 funding deadline, with some senators floating a short-term continuing resolution to carry funding through the midterm elections. Majority Leader John Thune has warned colleagues in closed-door meetings that the Senate should avoid getting pulled into a last-minute funding crisis before Election Day, while Appropriations Chair Susan Collins has argued for moving regular spending bills and criticized Democrats for resisting committee votes. Democrats have pointed to the Trump administration’s budget requests, including $1.5 trillion for defense, and a separate $87.6 billion supplemental request largely tied to costs from the Iran war. Axios also reported that Sen. Mitch McConnell’s medical absence has complicated the appropriations process, including delayed committee markups, with Republicans citing the panel’s narrow margin and McConnell’s role chairing the defense appropriations subcommittee.