Brit Hume Details Potential Fallout For Dems Refusing To Vote On Bill To Avoid Government Shutdown

By Mariane Angela, Daily Caller News Foundation | March 10, 2025

Veteran political analyst Brit Hume appeared on Fox News Monday and said the potential for political fallout exists for Democrats if they refuse to support a bill designed to prevent a government shutdown.

Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson is preparing for a Tuesday vote on legislation that, if passed, would prevent a partial government shutdown in the first 100 days of President Donald Trump’s term. During an appearance on “Special Report with Bret Baier,” Hume weighed in on the matter and warned the Democrats who might withhold their vote.

“The question then becomes whether if indeed Democrats do not provide those votes, and the government thereafter shuts down, which is what would happen. And it’s not a full shutdown,” Hume said. “We all know that, but it’s a partial shutdown and nobody ever likes it. And the party that gets blamed always suffers from it. And the Democrats seem to think that because, you know, the other part of your government, nobody will blame them.”

Hume said that the party perceived as responsible for a shutdown suffers in public opinion, and this instance may be no exception.

“May be different this time because it’ll be pretty plainly obvious that by refusing to provide a handful of votes, they cause the government shutdown. So I’m not sure they’ll be able to escape it this time, but we’ll see if they’re going to try,” Hume said.

Hume said that the House would need the votes from the Democratic Party for the bill to pass.

“And I think the issue here is not this House. I think that this bill will pass the House, this bill to keep the government open. But they do need Democratic votes because it is subject to filibuster in the Senate, and they don’t have a majority big enough to cover that. So they’ll need some Democrats,” Hume said.

House Republican leaders introduced a bill Saturday to fund the government until September and prevent a partial shutdown scheduled for just after midnight on March 14. This 99-page continuing resolution (CR) aims to finance government operations for the rest of the fiscal year, and it is the result of detailed collaboration with the Trump administration to reduce government expenditures, according to House GOP leadership staffers.

House Democrats are likely to reject the stopgap funding bill. They criticize Republican lawmakers for not including provisions that would limit President Donald Trump and the Department of Government Efficiency’s (DOGE’s) power to reduce unnecessary spending. 

The stopgap government funding bill requires backing from at least eight Senate Democrats to bypass the Senate’s filibuster, especially after Republican Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul vowed to oppose the CR. Meanwhile, Democratic Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman has committed to never voting for a government shutdown, thereby providing the Republican-endorsed plan with at least one Democratic vote.

Mariane Angela is a news reporter at the Daily Caller News Foundation

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