Sawt Falasteen - US govt shutdown in balance after top Democrat avoids fight

Democrats are smarting over Trump's radical spending cuts which have shredded entire sections of government and seen Congress largely bypassed in what critics say is an unconstitutional exercise of power by the White House.

Many in the party argue that refusing to back the Republican bill funding the US government for another six months would be a chance for Democrats to demonstrate opposition to the Trump project. Republicans have a slim majority with 53 of the 100 senators, but need some Democratic support to reach the necessary 60 votes for getting their bill through.

Ahead of the Friday midnight deadline, top Senate Democrat Chuck Schumer -- who has long insisted that it is bad politics to shut down the government -- said he would support the bill.

A Democratic blockade of the bill and the ensuing chaos of the entire US government temporarily being out of funds would be "a gift" to Trump, he said.

Many senior Democrats were furious at Schumer but early Friday, Trump signaled his pleasure at the climbdown.

"Congratulations to Chuck Schumer for doing the right thing — Took "guts" and courage!" Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.

Schumer has been joined by Pennsylvania's Democratic Senator John Fetterman. However, Schumer has not explicitly told his troops which way to vote, leaving it unclear whether enough Democrats will join Republicans.

- Defying Elon Musk? -

There have been four shutdowns where operations were affected for more than one business day, with the last occurring during Trump's first term.

During the disruption, up to 900,000 federal employees can be furloughed, while another million deemed essential workers -- from air traffic controllers to police -- work without pay.

Back salaries are paid once Congress agrees to a funding bill.

Meanwhile, Americans have to contend with a paralyzed government. Social Security and other benefits are protected, but there are typically delays in a variety of services while parks shut and food-safety inspections are halted.

The latest tussle is focused on the far-reaching program run by the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), led by Trump's advisor and top donor, billionaire Elon Musk.

DOGE aims to cut federal spending by $1 trillion this year and claims to have made savings so far of more than $100 billion, although verified cost savings amount to less than a tenth of that figure.

Grassroots Democrats, infuriated by what they see as the SpaceX and Tesla CEO's lawless rampage through the federal bureaucracy, want their leaders to fight hard to defy DOGE and Trump.

But several top party figures have warned that a shutdown could play into Musk's hands, distracting from DOGE's most unpopular actions and making it easier for him to announce more layoffs.

Republicans voiced confidence that the needed Democratic support would be available, with several opposition senators facing challenging reelection fights in the 2026 midterms and wary of being blamed for chaos in Congress.

One of the most vulnerable Democratic senators, Georgia's Jon Ossof, said however that he was a firm no.

He berated the Republican authors of the bill for failing to "impose any constraints on the reckless and out-of-control Trump administration."

John Thune, the Republican leader of the Senate, said Friday he had not spoken with his Democrat counterpart Schumer yet, telling Punchbowl News: "Passing this and getting this behind us is the best thing that can happen right now for everybody."

C.Hamad--SF-PST