Top ranking Democrat Sen. Charles Schumer doubled down on his call for House Republican Speaker John Boehner to ditch the Tea Party after Democrats helped pass a short-term federal funding bill that would have failed without their support because of defections within the GOP.
“Speaker Boehner wouldn’t have been able to pass this short-term measure without Democratic votes, and he won’t be able to pass a long-term one without Democratic votes either,” Schumer said in a statement. “It’s time for him to abandon the Tea Party, and forge a bipartisan compromise.”
Fifty-four House Republicans, many of them Tea Party-backed freshman, voted against a stopgap measure Tuesday that would fund the government for three weeks while the parties negotiate a long-term deal. The proposal included $6 billion in cuts, but did not touch funding for the health care law and other programs that some in the caucus said needed to be included to get their approval.
Schumer said Monday that Boehner “should consider leaving the Tea Party behind” because they “are unwilling to accept anything short of the extreme cuts in the House budget, even if it risks a shutdown.”
At least for now, the bill the House passed Tuesday is expected to make it through the Senate, but members in both parties have vowed to make sure this is the last time this year that Congress passes a short-term extension, urging the leaders to finally come to an agreement on spending.