Battle over timing complicates Democratic shutdown strategy
By Jordain Carney - 09/13/20 10:30 AM EDT
The November election is complicating the Democratic strategy in the looming government shutdown fight.
Feeling momentum as they aim to win back the Senate and the White House, Democrats are divided over whether to agree to a the GOP-favored stopgap bill that lasts into December or push for a longer deal to fund the government into early 2021.
A shorter bill, supporters hope, would force Congress to reach a larger funding deal before the end of the year. But a bill that lasts into next year would take a lame duck shutdown fight off the table and give Democrats more leverage if Democratic nominee Joe Biden is elected president.
“We’ve gone back and forth, it’s a split decision in the caucus. If you can tell us what happens Nov. 3 it is a lot easier. ... The uncertainty about the presidential election is an element,†Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (Ill.) said when asked about the length of a bill.
more
https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/516091-battle-over-timing-complicates-democratic-shutdown-strategy
