As the clock ticks down toward the end of September, Congress once again finds itself locked in a familiar, high-stakes standoff over government funding. This year, however, the battle lines are sharper, the stakes higher, and the rhetoric more heated than ever. At the heart of the debate: whether to pass a so-called "clean" stopgap spending bill to keep the government running, or to use the looming threat of a shutdown to force major policy concessions—especially on health care and the balance of power between Congress and the executive branch.
House Republican leaders are racing against time to pass a continuing resolution (CR) that would extend government funding through November 20, 2025, according to The Hill. Yet, the text of the measure remains unreleased, and GOP sources say it will be largely "clean"—meaning it would avoid controversial policy riders or changes. With lawmakers set to leave Washington next week for the Rosh Hashanah holiday, the pressure is on to act before the government runs out of money at the end of the month.
But Democrats are not on board. They have made it clear that their support for any stopgap measure is contingent on significant health care provisions, most notably an extension of the enhanced Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies that are set to expire at the end of the year. As The American Prospect reports, both House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) and Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) have insisted that Democrats will not accept any "clean" CR negotiated without their input. "We have broad agreement that the health of the American people should be paramount in this debate," Rep. Richie Neal (D-MA), the top Democrat on the House Ways and Means Committee, told Politico.
Jeffries was even more blunt on social media, declaring, "Partisan legislation that continues the unprecedented Republican assault on healthcare is not a clean spending bill. It’s a dirty one." The Democratic strategy is to leverage their votes—especially in the Senate, where bipartisan support is needed—to force Republicans to the negotiating table on health care. The hope is that by making this demand tangible and real, Democrats can galvanize public support and prevent millions of Americans from suddenly losing their health insurance.
Yet, some Democrats and outside observers argue that focusing solely on health care misses the bigger picture. According to The American Prospect, the larger issue is President Trump’s increasing use of emergency powers and his willingness to bypass Congress on spending decisions. In the past six months alone, Trump has withheld $410 billion in grants and agency spending, reneging on a previous bipartisan funding deal. This, critics argue, represents a fundamental threat to the constitutional balance of power.
Daniel Schuman, executive director of the American Governance Institute, told The American Prospect, "What it comes down to is, does Congress matter or not? Does the law matter or not? To not take a stand is to cede their authority." Schuman and others have proposed a suite of legislative measures designed to reassert congressional control over the budget process. These include preventing the president from unilaterally rescinding spending that was agreed to on a bipartisan basis, eliminating fast-track procedures for such rescissions, and auto-apportioning agency appropriations to bypass the Office of Management and Budget—where, as Schuman notes, Trump’s allies have acted as "gatekeepers" on hundreds of billions in funding.
Other proposals would bar any funding in the budget from being used to execute rescissions, require the immediate release of withheld funds before any new deal is struck, and give state attorneys general standing to sue over illegal impoundments. Congress could even prohibit the executive branch from using budget funds to contest such lawsuits in court. The goal, as Schuman puts it, is to ensure that "the words on the paper mean something and cannot be countermanded."
The fight is not just about dollars and cents. It’s also about the president’s ability to declare national emergencies and deploy the military on U.S. soil. Republican bills like the ARTICLE ONE Act would require that emergency declarations be approved by Congress and expire after 30 days without such approval. Democrats could also insist that no budget funds be used to coordinate National Guard deployments to American cities except in cases of natural disasters—a measure that has precedent in the 2022 National Defense Authorization Act.
Beyond these structural reforms, there are calls to bolster whistleblower protections, enhance press freedom, and maintain the independence of inspectors general. Schuman points out, "It is a useful thing and people support transparency and accountability." Congress could even strip the Supreme Court of jurisdiction over certain budget-related cases or defund executive branch litigation on these matters, further limiting the president’s ability to circumvent legislative intent.
Meanwhile, the Republican leadership faces its own internal challenges. With only a slim majority in the House, GOP leaders can afford to lose just two votes if all Democrats oppose the CR. Several Republicans, including Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) and Rep. Victoria Spartz (R-IN), have publicly criticized the stopgap plan. Greene has said Congress "should not pass a CR," while Spartz expressed concerns about the timing of the measure and the risk of a massive omnibus bill just before Thanksgiving. Rep. Warren Davidson (R-OH) wrote, "I already hated status quo thinking and approaches (soft incrementalism at best), so I’m out on another CR for the sake of more government."
Adding to the partisan rancor, the National Republican Congressional Committee has launched a paid ad campaign targeting 25 vulnerable House Democrats, warning that they are threatening to "sabotage" President Trump’s agenda with a shutdown. According to The Hill, appropriators on both sides are also working through a list of requested add-ons from the White House, including a $58 million security boost for government officials following the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk. Lawmakers from both parties have called for increased security resources in response to rising fears of political violence.
Despite the acrimony, there are some glimmers of bipartisanship. House Appropriations Chair Tom Cole (R-OK) told The Hill that both sides are "not far apart" on funding talks for several key bills, including those covering the legislative branch, Veterans Affairs, and Agriculture. But with time running short, he cautioned, "Can’t do something like this and have members show up and not have a chance to explain it."
In the end, the battle over the 2025 budget is about far more than just numbers. It’s about whether Congress will reassert its constitutional authority, whether the president will continue to push the boundaries of executive power, and whether the American people will see their health care and democratic institutions protected—or sacrificed on the altar of partisan politics. As Schuman summed up, "The government is already shut down. We’re just pretending like it’s not. This is making the fight real."
