Senate Dem Leader Schumer folds on funding bill. Will shutdown be averted? – National & International News – THU 13Mar2025

 

 

Senate Dem Leader Schumer folds on government funding bill.

Putin willing to consider Ukraine ceasefire, but with reservations.

 

NATIONAL NEWS

Senate Dem Leader Schumer folds on government funding bill 

Yesterday, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) stated that Senate Democrats were “unified” in opposition to the House Republicans’ continuing resolution bill to fund the government until September 30. Senate Republicans need at least seven Democratic votes to approve cloture, which closes debate on a bill and allows it to go to a vote. With Democrats in opposition, and the House in recess, it appeared that a government shutdown was likely. 

In a quick about-face, Schumer announced this afternoon that he would now be voting for cloture to allow the bill to move forward. “I believe it is my job to make the best choice for the country, to minimize the harms to the American people,” Schumer said.

Democratic Senator John Fetterman (PA) has already said that he would vote to pass the bill while Republican Senator Ron Paul (KY) said that he would vote against the bill. With Schumer’s vote, that means least five more Democrats will need to vote to approve cloture so that the bill can advance to a straight majority vote. 

Will a shutdown be averted?

Schumer said he was not whipping the cloture vote and that it would be up to each Democratic senator to decide for themselves how to vote.

Democratic lawmakers have been facing pressure from their constituents to oppose the bill, since it is one of the only opportunities they will have to meaningfully oppose Trump’s agenda. However, many are wary of the harm that could be caused by a government shutdown, and the fact that Democrats will most likely be blamed for it. Some Democrats are also worried that a shutdown would allow Trump to decide which services are essential and which will stay open during the shutdown.

Democrats are considering a face-saving saving measure, offering to vote for cloture in exchange for a vote on an amendment for a 30-day clean continuing resolution to allow Democrats and Republicans to negotiate. The vote for this amendment will almost surely fail, but Democrats hope that they will appease their base by appearing to force the issue. 

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INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Putin willing to consider Ukraine ceasefire, with reservations 

Earlier this week, Ukraine accepted a US proposal for an immediate 30-day ceasefire in their war with Russia to allow negotiations for a long-term settlement to commence. Until today, Russia’s President Vladimir Putin had not yet responded.

Today, Putin told reporters at the Kremlin, “we agree with the proposals to end hostilities. The idea itself is correct, and we certainly support it. But we proceed from the fact that this cessation should be such that it would lead to a long-term peace and would eliminate the original causes of this crisis”.  Here, he was referring to NATO’s eastward expansion since 1994 and Ukraine’s ambitions to join NATO, which Putin sees as an existential threat to Russia. Putin has long called for the demilitarization of Ukraine.

During his remarks today, Putin commented that a 30-day ceasefire would only allow Ukraine’s allies, including the US, to continue supplying arms to Ukraine. He also voiced concerns about how the ceasefire would be monitored along the roughly 700-mile front line, and who would do the monitoring. 

Putin did not speak on it today, but Russian officials have previously rejected proposals from the West to have foreign peacekeepers (mostly from EU and NATO countries) in Ukraine. Russian officials have argued that this would make it more difficult to de-escalate and a significant foreign military presence in Ukraine would make a reignition of the conflict more likely, and also possibly broaden the scope of the conflict.

Ukrainians routed in Kursk 

Putin also spoke about the military situation which has been changing in Russia’s favor. In recent days, Russian forces have recaptured nearly all of the territory in Russia’s Kursk region that Ukrainian troops have occupied since August. Yesterday, Russian forces took the Kursk city of Sudzha, one of the major population centers Ukrainians had occupied, with little resistance.

Putin also said he would not accept allowing Ukrainian troops to retreat peacefully from Kursk, alleging that Ukrainian troops had committed crimes against Russian civilians. Putin instead suggested that Ukraine should order them to surrender.

In a visit to the Kursk front line yesterday, Putin called for Russian forces to continue to drive Ukrainians out of Kursk. He also commented that he wanted to set up a buffer zone in Ukraine’s Sumy region. It appears that Putin still wishes to press his advantage militarily and is not likely to be ready for a ceasefire anytime soon.

Ukraine’s retreat in Kursk also means the loss of one of their major bargaining chips in any negotiations.

“Promising” but “incomplete”

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky remarked that Putin’s conditions were “very predictable, very manipulative“. Ukraine’s allies have rejected Putin’s conditions as a ploy to prolong the fighting and potentially make a ceasefire impossible.

However, President Trump said that he regarded Putin’s remarks as “very promising” but “incomplete”. Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff has arrived in Moscow to meet with Putin to discuss terms. 

Putin also said that he would like to discuss the ceasefire over the phone with President Trump. Trump said he was willing to do that and said that he would also like to meet with Putin in person at some point.

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