With the clock running out on government funding—literally, midnight Friday—Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell wanted to make it easy on the Senate. He put forward a unanimous consent request that the Senate just automatically pass whatever the House kicks over to them Friday to keep the government running into next week, while Congress works out the details of a longer-term spending measure. It's what happening in those spending talks that made Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer block McConnell's motion.
Schumer said there were still unresolved "poison pill riders" being worked out on a longer spending deal that would fund the government through Sept. 30.
"Our position has been clear and it's nothing new. No poison pill riders. The sooner we can resolve this issue, the quicker we can have an agreement on appropriations for 2017, so I object," he said from the Senate floor.
He added that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has been "cooperative and extremely helpful" but Democrats want to work on the remaining hurdles to a long-term deal before they can agree to pass the short-term continuing resolution (CR). […]
Schumer has pointed to concerns about environmental regulations, Dodd-Frank protections and rolling back healthcare as outstanding issues on the long-term talks.
Schumer is using all possible leverage to keep those poison pills out of the funding bill, which is smart considering what House Republicans have been up to lately.