Democrat lawmaker blasts Senate colleagues for caving in shutdown deal
Rep. Melanie Stansbury, D-N.M., ripped into the reasoning that led eight Senate Democrats to seal the fate of the government shutdown on Sunday. As the top Democrat on the House...
By Fox News · Fox News
Rep. Melanie Stansbury, D-N.M., ripped into the reasoning that led eight Senate Democrats to seal the fate of the government shutdown on Sunday. As the top Democrat on the House Oversight Subcommittee overseeing government efficiency, Stansbury said the bill’s promise of job protections for federal employees was a safeguard that Congress should not have needed to spell out. "While I appreciate the bipartisan effort that provided additional protection for our federal workers in the bill, it shouldn’t have been necessary in the first place," Stansbury said. SENATE VOTE TO END GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN IGNITES DEMOCRAT CIVIL WAR Stansbury, like many Democrats, has opposed the Trump administration's blanket dismissal of federal employees as a way to cut government spending through the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), arguing that the orders violate employment laws. "The president’s actions in conducting mass firings during the shutdown and threatening to withhold back pay are both illegal under current law," Stansbury said. Her comments highlight ongoing Democrat division over the shutdown’s end and the party priorities that went unresolved. With key Democrats' help, the Senate overcame the threat of a filibuster on Sunday before finally passing the short-term spending deal on Monday evening in a 60-40 vote. That bill, which now heads to the House of Representatives, will end the ongoing 42-day government shutdown if passed. The package would fund the government through Jan. 30 of next year. It includes three of the government’s 12 spending bills: appropriations for the legislative branch, agriculture and Veterans Affairs and military construction. Notably, its language also forbids the Trump administration from conducting mass reductions in force (RIFs) and would reinstate federal employees fired during the shutdown with back pay. Just hours before Sunday's vote, the language on RIFs clinched the needed support for the package’s success. Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., wa…