Republican state AGs push Democrats to put partisanship aside and fund government

Dozens of Republican state attorneys general (AG) on Monday sent a letter to Senate Democrats, urging them to put politics and partisanship aside to avoid a government shutdown later in the week.

The 2025 fiscal year is set to end on Tuesday, meaning a shutdown would take place as soon as Wednesday morning if a funding agreement is not reached before then. 

The House has already passed a bill to keep the government funded through late November, but the Senate failed to pass the measure along party lines.

The group of Republicans urged Senate Democrats to think about their constituents and how they would be impacted if the government shuts down. Senate Democrats are pushing to get certain healthcare subsidies extended.

“As September 30 draws near, we urge you to prevent a government shutdown by immediately passing the clean, short-term funding extension that passed the House of Representatives,” the AGs wrote, per the Daily Signal. “The lives of hard-working Americans in every state depend on your putting partisanship aside to pass this budget extension before the looming deadline passes."

The letter was addressed to Senate Democrats because Republicans in the upper chamber will need bipartisan support in order to get any funding bill passed. Republicans hold the majority with 53 seats, but would need 60 votes to pass the legislation.

The AGs said passing a continuing resolution that would keep funding levels at its current rate is not ideal, but would give negotiators more time to come up with a long-term plan.

“This commonsense option keeps the servicemen and women, border agents, and TSA screeners who keep us safe paid,” the AGs said. “It keeps grant funding for state and local law enforcement and first responders going ... A government shutdown would disrupt our economy, threaten public safety, and further erode the people’s confidence in public institutions, but all of that is entirely avoidable.

“We represent the same hard-working Americans you do,” the AGs continued. “Failure to pass a clean, short-term continuing resolution—no poison pills, no gimmicks—before midnight on September 30 will cause them real pain. They deserve to be treated with greater respect than this.”

The letter was signed by 26 attorneys general from Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia and West Virginia.

The letter comes the same day that Trump and Vice President JD Vance met congressional leaders at the White House, though they failed to secure a deal. Vance blamed Democrats, stating they refused to "do the right thing."

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