OAN Staff Blake Wolf
9:27 AM – Friday, August 29, 2025
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries have sent a letter to GOP leaders, proposing an urgent meeting to negotiate a government funding agreement to prevent a shutdown by the end of September.
The letter was reportedly sent to House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.), calling for a “four corners” negotiation to proceed on a bipartisan continuing resolution bill that would avoid a government shutdown and continued work on the annual appropriations legislation.
“The Sept. 30th funding deadline will be upon us shortly. It is therefore imperative that we immediately meet upon our return to Congress next week to discuss the need to avert a painful, unnecessary lapse in government funding and to address the health care crisis Republicans have triggered in America,” Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Jeffries (D-N.Y.) wrote.
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Schumer and Jeffries warned their GOP colleagues that any continuing resolution must be collaborated on in a bipartisan manner, as Schumer and other Senate Democrats grudgingly voted for a partisan continuing resolution in March to avoid a government shutdown.
Schumer has received backlash for his decision to fold and vote to pass the March continuing resolution without obtaining any concessions, although he has maintained that he made the correct decision to avoid a government shutdown.
Schumer’s letter indicates that he is looking to take a stronger stance in demanding concessions to pass any GOP-led spending bills this time around.
“The government funding issue must be resolved in a bipartisan way. That is the only viable path forward,” the Democrat leaders stressed. “It is past time you reveal your plans to meet the needs of the American people. Otherwise, it is clear that you have abandoned bipartisanship altogether and are preparing to shut down the government.”
The Democrat Congressional leaders are also reportedly looking to negotiate the reversal of prior cuts to Medicaid as a key demand in exchange for cooperation with the GOP on a funding bill, utilizing the looming deadline as leverage.
“As a result of your choice to pursue a partisan agenda this Congress, 15 million Americans will now lose their health care. Put simply, it need not be this way. The Senate recently demonstrated that Congress is still able to achieve bipartisan appropriations legislation for the American people when the legislative process is permitted to work. Today, we wish to reiterate that we should pursue a bipartisan path—you can work with us to protect health care for the American people and chart a better course for this country,” Schumer and Jeffries added.
Republicans have maintained that the cuts to health care solely targeted waste, fraud, and abuse within the health care system, rather than core benefits to recipients.
Meanwhile, Senate GOP leaders are reportedly in favor of agreeing to a short-term spending bill that would allow more time to negotiate with Democrats and receive input from the White House.
Other GOP members of the House and Senate are reportedly discussing a one-year extension of the current spending levels, with minor changes such as targeted spending cuts and other GOP priorities, according to a Politico report.
As Congress returns to Washington, D.C., next week, the House is set to turn its focus towards an Energy and Water appropriations bill, while the Senate will begin debate on a sweeping defense policy bill.
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