Chuck Schumer to vote for Republican funding bill to avert shutdown

The Guardian -  The Senate minority leader, Chuck Schumer, said on Thursday he would vote for a Republican-written bill to fund federal agencies through September and avert a government shutdown. Schumer’s comments suggest that his members are prepared to provide the necessary votes to clear a procedural hurdle ahead, allowing the seven-month spending measure to advance to a final vote.

In a floor speech, Schumer called the vote a “Hobson’s choice” for Senate Democrats, under pressure from their counterparts in the House and their activist base to block the House-passed measure that they have argued would give Donald Trump too much discretion over spending decisions. But after days of tense, closed-door meetings, Schumer said he ultimately believed a shutdown, which would begin Friday at midnight, would carry “consequences for America that are much, much worse”.