Trump warns government could shut down for a short period amid Congress' funding battle

The House of Representatives passed a short-term continuing resolution that would keep the government funded through Nov. 21. But the Senate rejected the legislation in a 44-48 vote just hours later.

By Misty Severi

Published: September 19, 2025 7:12pm

President Donald Trump on Friday predicted that the federal government might be shut down for a short period while Senate Democrats block federal funding packages from passing.

The House of Representatives earlier Friday passed a short-term continuing resolution that would keep the government funded through Nov. 21. But the Senate failed to pass the legislation in a 44-48 vote just hours later.

Trump said that Republicans would continue to try and reach an agreement with Democrats that keeps the country operating, but warned that an agreement might not be reached in time. Congress currently has until Oct. 1 to reach a deal.

“We’ll continue to talk to the Democrats, but I think you could very well end up with a closed country for a period of time,” Trump said. “We’ll take care of the military. We’ll take care of Social Security. We’ll take care of the things we have to take care of. A lot of the things Democrats fight for…will not be able to be paid. So we’ll watch and see how we do with that.”

Trump also praised Pennsylvania Democratic Sen. John Fetterman for voting with Republicans to keep the government funded, even though his support was not enough to pass the legislation.

“He wants to keep the country open,” Trump said. “We’re doing so well as a country.”

Republican Sens. Rand Paul of Kentucky and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska voted against the bill.

House Speaker Mike Johnson said a Senate Democrat proposal to keep the government funded was full of "poison pills," such as funding to help pay for illegal migrants to receive free health care.

“Chuck Schumer and the Democrats issued a counteroffer, and the counteroffer is filled with poison pills and partisan demands that will break the system down, and Chuck Schumer knows that,” Johnson said, per the Daily Caller. “He’s trying to force, for example, and everybody at home needs to understand what Chuck Schumer is trying to do, is force $1.4 trillion in additional spending on the American people, a spending on a very short-term continued resolution to keep the government out.”

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