U.S. Senate postpones Monday votes ahead of govt funding deadline

By Andrew Rice
The Center Square

The U.S. Senate canceled votes originally scheduled for Monday due to inclement weather, shortening the timeframe for legislators to pass necessary funding bills to avoid a government shutdown.

Ryan Wrasse, a representative from Senate Majority Leader John Thune’s office, said votes would be postponed to Tuesday evening in anticipation of “impending weather.”

The National Weather Service has called for heavy snow in Washington, D.C. over the weekend, combined with threats of ice accumulation.

“The importance of funding the remaining portions of the government by Friday remains the same,” Wrasse wrote in a post on social media.

The U.S. House of Representatives passed a $1.2 trillion government funding package on Thursday. The four bills included in Friday’s package leave a total of six pieces of legislation the Senate must approve to avoid a Jan. 30 government shutdown.

At least seven Democrats need to support the six-bill funding package in order to overcome the U.S. Senate’s 60-vote threshold to pass legislation.

Funding bills dissent has festered among Senate Democrats. Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., criticized the House’s funding bills in a statement posted on social media.

Kaine called for restrictions on funding for Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, protections for federal workers and health insurance guarantees.

“The President is acting chaotically and unlawfully and we shouldn’t give his deranged decisions the imprimatur of congressional approval without significant amendment,” Kaine wrote.