Federal cash expires in one month, and the Senate Democrat poised to run funding negotiations next year wants a short-term patch into January — when her party takes control.
Looking ahead to the Dec. 11 government shutdown deadline, Washington Sen. Patty Murray said in an interview Tuesday that a stopgap is the best way to ensure Congress passes final, full-year spending bills that fulfill the demands of voters who overwhelmingly chose Democrats on Election Day.
“Voters handed us a huge mandate to write these bills that reflect their priorities,” said Murray, the incoming Senate Appropriations chair. “So how we can lower costs and end corruption and end the war in Iran — the best way for us to do that is to do a short-term CR and then write these funding bills for next year.”
Murray said she wants to boost nondefense dollars for priorities like childcare, education and infrastructure next year, while reining in defense spending and cracking down on President Donald Trump’s moves to shirk Congress’ funding power.
Democrats are still discussing how they might use the December government shutdown deadline to end the Iran conflict, she added — including whether the party will cut off cash for the military operation as a condition of voting to keep federal operations afloat.
“The devil will be in the details,” Murray said, adding that Democrats are “looking at all the options” for ending the war.
Democrats will also demand that any December funding bill extend language blocking the Trump administration from finalizing its plans to put political appointees in charge of approving federal grants, Murray said. Then, when her party takes control of both the House and Senate in January, the new majority will insert new provisions into funding bills designed to stop Trump from shifting, withholding and canceling federal spending Congress mandates.
That includes blocking the president from unilaterally canceling billions of dollars next fall, like he did again this year, and holding oversight hearings to probe the administration’s spending tactics, Murray said: “I am going to make sure that we Trump-proof every one of our bills that we write next year, so this administration follows the letter of the law.”
Murray, who is currently the top Democrat on the Appropriations Committee, is expected to wield the gavel next year alongside Sen. Lisa Murkowski in the top Republican spot. The Alaska lawmaker is a longtime friend of Murray’s — and a partner over the last two years in pushing back against Trump’s moves to claw back funding Congress already approved.
“She and I have a really good friendship,” Murray said of Murkowski. “We have a good, productive and strong working relationship. And I think she will represent her caucus well and be willing to work with us on any differences.”
