Fears of U.S. Federal Government Shutdown Grow Amid Bipartisan Clash Over Trump Tax Cut Bill

Democrats: "It Won't Be Business as Usual"
Republicans: "The Odds Are Fifty-Fifty"

The risk of a federal government shutdown in the United States is once again rising, as clashes between the two parties intensify over the Trump administration's large-scale tax cuts and spending reduction bills.

AP Yonhap News

According to political news outlet The Hill on July 21 (local time), a senior Republican member of the Senate Appropriations Committee assessed the likelihood of a federal government shutdown as "exactly fifty-fifty."

Another Republican senator also predicted that the possibility of a shutdown has increased, as Democratic lawmakers are pushing back against the current tax cut bill and the proposed budget cuts for international aid and public broadcasting. He stated, "The Democrats are very dissatisfied," adding, "They will try to fight us under any circumstances and will use the government funding issue as a battleground." In fact, Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer warned Republican lawmakers in a letter sent on July 8 not to expect government funding to proceed as usual.

Although President Trump has taken a unilateral hardline stance both domestically and internationally since taking office, the Democratic Party has failed to respond effectively. As a result, it is widely expected in Washington that the Democrats will use the federal budget as leverage to counterattack President Trump and appease their disappointed supporters.

The Republican Party plans to accelerate the passage of bills to organize the appropriations budget and will continue to urge bipartisan cooperation from the Democrats. Senate Republican Leader John Thune said, "It takes 60 votes to fund the government," and expressed hope to advance appropriations bills that could gain Democratic support. Currently, the Republicans hold a majority in the Senate with 53 seats, but Democratic cooperation is required to pass the budget, as the Democrats control 45 seats.

Leader Thune is reportedly pushing to bring appropriations bills related to agriculture, military construction, veterans affairs, as well as the Departments of Commerce, Justice, and science, to the Senate floor before Congress goes on recess next month. In this situation, there is a sense of unease within the Republican Party, as President Trump is expected to submit additional budget cut proposals to Congress. This could further provoke already angry Democrats.

With White House Budget Director Russell Vought having already announced plans to submit additional budget cut proposals, The Hill reported that Republican leadership has sent a "warning" message to the White House regarding this policy. A senior Republican Senate official cautioned that if the White House submits further budget cut proposals, it will "face complicated consequences," emphasizing that "any additional budget cuts should be timed more appropriately and carried out with greater precision."

However, the hardline stance among Democratic lawmakers is partly motivated by considerations for the next presidential candidate or floor leader selection. In addition, since there have been numerous instances where the budget was dramatically passed in Congress just before a federal shutdown, it remains to be seen whether an actual shutdown will occur. For example, earlier this year, the budget passed Congress with Democratic cooperation, narrowly avoiding a shutdown. As a result, Democratic floor leaders faced criticism from party hardliners, who accused them of being "traitors."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.