Montana Republicans Blame ‘Schumer Shutdown’ as Democrats Block House Funding Bill

HELENA, MT — Federal government operations shut down Tuesday night after Senate Democrats blocked a continuing resolution to fund the government, despite having voted for similar measures multiple times in the past, prompting Montana’s Republican delegation to label it the “Schumer Shutdown.”

The House passed a clean funding bill to keep the government running through mid-November, but Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Democrats rejected the measure, leading to the first government shutdown under unified Republican control.

House Passes Clean Funding Bill

Rep. Ryan Zinke (MT-01) defended the House’s actions, posting that “The House did our job and passed a clean FUNDING bill to keep the government running and our military paid until mid November.”

“Blaming a shutdown on President Trump is pure non-sense,” Zinke wrote on X, adding that “Shutdown Schumer is being forced to bow before the far left radicals who have no plan other than to be against whatever President Trump is for.”

The continuing resolution would have maintained current funding levels through November 15, providing time for negotiations on a longer-term spending package. Similar continuing resolutions have received Democratic support in previous years when government funding was set to expire.

Montana Republicans Unite in Criticism

Montana’s Republican delegation issued coordinated statements blaming Senate Democrats for choosing political obstruction over governance.

“Chuck Schumer and the Democrats put partisan games over the best interests of the American people and shut down the government,” Sen. Tim Sheehy said in a statement Wednesday. “Democrats are holding critical resources for our military, veterans, and hardworking Montana families hostage to appease their radical, far-left base.”

Sen. Steve Daines said Democrats “ignored the best interests of the American people and voted to shut down the federal government.”

“Shutdowns do nothing but hurt our country- our brave service members will not get paid and millions of Montanans, including our veterans, will lose access to services they depend on,” Daines said.

Rep. Troy Downing (MT-02) focused his criticism on spending levels, posting on social media that “House & Senate Democrats are holding the government hostage unless they get nearly $1.5 TRILLION in new spending.”

“Complete and total fiscal irresponsibility,” Downing wrote on X Tuesday.

Democratic Demands

Democrats rejected the continuing resolution while demanding removal of Medicaid work requirements from the “Big Beautiful Bill” and nearly $1.5 trillion in additional spending that Republicans argue were not part of traditional funding negotiations.

Democrats claim the work requirements could cause 40,000 Montanans to lose Medicaid coverage, while separately arguing that healthcare premiums could double for 77,221 Montanans during the upcoming ACA enrollment period without legislative action.

“Donald Trump, Senator Daines, Senator Sheehy, Congressman Zinke, and Congressman Downing refused to negotiate and ensure that healthcare expenses don’t double for Montana families, who are already struggling under Donald Trump’s economy,” said Justin Ailport, Montana Democratic Party Interim Executive Director.

Republicans counter that the continuing resolution would preserve time for the normal budgetary process before ACA Marketplace open enrollment ends January 15th, while noting that the work requirements Democrats seek to remove were part of legislation signed just months ago.

Military and Veterans Bear the Cost

Montana Republicans emphasized that the Democratic decision to block the continuing resolution directly harms military personnel and veterans, constituencies with significant representation in Montana.

Sheehy, who campaigned on restoring “common sense” to Washington, said he would “keep voting to stop the Schumer Shutdown and get back to work.”

Both senators noted that service members would go without pay during the shutdown, despite the House passing legislation specifically designed to prevent this outcome.

Context: Previous Democratic Support for CRs

The shutdown comes despite Democrats having previously voted for continuing resolutions during past funding disputes. The practice of passing short-term funding measures to avoid shutdowns has historically received bipartisan support when negotiations on longer-term spending bills require additional time.

Republicans argue that Democrats’ rejection of this continuing resolution represents a departure from previous precedent, where such measures were viewed as responsible governance to keep the government functioning during budget negotiations.

Fiscal Backdrop

The dispute comes months after President Trump signed the sweeping “Big Beautiful Bill” into law in July, legislation that included significant tax cuts, energy provisions, and border security funding. The reconciliation bill, championed by Montana’s GOP delegation, was praised by Republicans as historic tax relief while Democrats warned it could add $2.4 trillion to the federal deficit.

Republicans argue the current shutdown is unrelated to the earlier legislation’s implementation and instead reflects Democratic unwillingness to support routine government funding measures.

Senate Fails Again on Wednesday Vote

The Senate voted again Wednesday morning on the same continuing resolution that failed Tuesday night, but the measure failed once more in identical votes. The government shutdown took effect at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday.

House Speaker Mike Johnson said during a Wednesday press conference that “the longer this goes on, the more pain that will be inflicted,” urging Senate Democrats to “come to their senses” and pass the continuing resolution.

“Every single bit of this was entirely avoidable,” Johnson said, adding that Democrats should pass the clean CR as they did in the House. “They have dragged us into another reckless shutdown to appeal to their far-left base.”

The timeline for reopening the government remains unclear, though Senate Majority Leader John Thune said Republicans are seeking additional Democrats to support their funding bill. Republicans have indicated willingness to negotiate on a longer-term spending package but maintain that keeping the government open should not be contingent on unrelated policy demands.

“I’ll keep fighting to re-open the government, so we can get back to work delivering wins for Montana and the nation,” Daines said.

The shutdown affects federal operations nationwide, with particular impact on military families who will not receive pay until funding is restored.