Congressional Republican leadership reacts to Senate failing to avert government shutdown

Senate Majority Leader John Thune and House Speaker Mike Johnson released statements on Tuesday night after the Senate failed to get enough bipartisan support to avert a looming government shutdown.

The government is slated to formally shut down at midnight and the Senate has adjourned until 10 a.m. on Wednesday. The Senate attempted to avert the shutdown earlier Tuesday, but it failed in a 55-45 split, while 60 votes were needed. 

Thune claimed during a Senate Republican leadership press conference that Senate Democrats have "sacrificed the American people" by rejecting the House-passed resolution that would have averted the shutdown until Nov. 21.

"We didn't ask Democrats to swallow any new Republican policies. We didn't add partisan riders," Thune said. "We simply asked Democrats to extend existing funding levels to allow the Senate to continue the bipartisan appropriations work that we started."

"And Senate Democrats said no," he continued. "Why? Because far-left interest groups and far-left Democrat members wanted a showdown with the president. And so, Senate Democrats have sacrificed the American people to Democrats' partisan interests."

House Speaker Mike Johnson also blamed Democrats for failing to avoid the government shutdown, claiming House Republicans did their part by passing a "clean" continuing resolution.

"REMINDER: @HouseGOP DID OUR JOB in passing the clean, nonpartisan CR," Johnson posted on X. "Tonight government funding runs out. Democrats want to shut down the AMERICAN government, hurting AMERICAN citizens, so that they can give free, taxpayer-funded benefits to NON-AMERICANS."

The White House has directed federal departments and agencies to execute orderly shutdown plans that will place some federal employees on furlough. Federal employees will receive backpay once the government reopens.

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.