Thune Pushes Stopgap Bill Through Midterms as Trump Weighs 3 Potential Deal-Breakers
Updated
Updated · New York Magazine · Aug 3
Thune Pushes Stopgap Bill Through Midterms as Trump Weighs 3 Potential Deal-Breakers
3 articles · Updated · New York Magazine · Aug 3
Summary
John Thune has lined up a bipartisan stopgap spending bill to keep the government funded until after the midterms, aiming to avoid a shutdown and clear some Trump nominees before the Senate leaves for August.
Three provisions could sink it with Donald Trump: no new immigration-enforcement money, only limited Pentagon funding, and a temporary freeze on OMB Director Russ Vought’s proposed grant-review panel.
Trump could derail the measure with a single Truth Social post, while even silence could let House Republicans declare the Senate package dead on arrival after the House already passed its own priorities and recessed.
Democrats can filibuster any partisan Senate funding bill, leaving Thune little room to add Trump demands because Vought’s panel, major Pentagon increases and likely new ICE money are all red lines for them.
The standoff leaves Senate Republicans waiting on whether Trump accepts a pre-election bipartisan truce or risks a shutdown that could hurt incumbents in both parties and the White House.