As noted last week, this government-funding fight is directly about abortion.
When Sen. Schumer was Senate majority leader, as long as Republicans were willing to go along with the status quo, then they were being “bipartisan” to his satisfaction.
- Gaming out the politics of a shutdown: “In 35 years of shutdown showdowns, the Democratic position has almost always been that a ‘clean’ or unconditional extension of current funding levels is the obviously correct answer.”
- Thune: “For years, the Democrat leader talked about the importance of passing clean continuing resolutions. In fact, we did 13 of them while the Democrats had the majority the past 4 years with a Democrat in the White House.”
Today, “clean” still represents the status quo, but the Democrats are no longer willing to support that because the status quo today has changed:
- Before 7/4/2025, U.S. government funding went to abortion providers.
- After 7/4/2025 (P.L. 119-21, Sec. 71113), abortion providers don't get government Medicaid funding for a year, long enough to cause many of them to close entirely.
It's no accident that Democrats are now rejecting their long-time support of the status quo in the name of “healthcare, most of all.” Funding of abortion providers is one unmistakable difference from then to now.
Their response to this is written in their legislation. Democrats have alternative continuing resolution (CR) funding bills, and they specifically target, among other things, the defunding of abortion providers with S. 2882 and H.R. 5450:
- Division B (Extensions and other matters)
- Title I (Health)
- Subtitle E (Other Health Provisions)
- Sec. 2141 (Repeal of Health Subtitle Changes) specifically repeals “Subtitle B of title VII” of P.L. 119-21 — which includes Sec. 71113 that defunds abortion providers.
Thankfully, S. 2882 was voted down in the Senate and H.R. 5450 failed as a motion to recommit in the House.
Democrats are dug in, and this time their ideological demand has a steep $1T price tag. While their position is weaker than it has been in this kind of fight, their resolve to continue the shedding of innocent blood for money should not be underestimated.
This is a matter for urgent and informed prayer.
(This is a separate issue from the question of whether or not the expensive—$349.8 billion over 10 years—expanded ACA subsidies would pay for abortion.)
Father, we ask you to bring this corruption to light, that this legislative maneurver would be exposed, that euphemisms like “health care” would be shown for what they really mean by those pushing this evil agenda. May their agenda not go forward, and may the U.S. Federal government never again fund abortion providers.
“The love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.” (1 Timothy 6:10)
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Tim McGhee
CHPP Legislative Analyst
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Daily Digests: M 9/22 • T 9/23 • Th 9/25 • F 9/26
Senate — Votes — News
M 9/22/2025 — Digest, Record All, PDF • Summary
Th 9/25/2025 — Digest, Record All, PDF • Summary
House — Votes — Legislation: New: 94 (R, D) — News
T 9/23/2025 — Prayer, Digest, Record All PDF, Extensions All PDF • Activity
The prayer was offered by the Guest Chaplain, Rev. John Kellogg, Christ Church Capitol Hill, Washington, DC.
9:02:50 a.m. - DISTRICT WORK PERIOD - Pursuant to clause 13 of Rule I, the Chair announced the Speaker's designation of the period from Monday, September 29, 2025, through Monday, October 6, 2025, as a "district work period".
F 9/26/2025 — Prayer, Digest, Record All PDF, Extensions All PDF • Activity
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National Security — Committees: Senate, House
Top Republican on House China panel seeks briefing over Bytedance deal Lawmakers passed a law in 2024 requiring ByteDance to divest
Foreign Policy — Committees: Senate, House
Trump's abrupt Ukraine shift exposes fresh frustrations with Putin (S. 1241, H.R. 2548)
First Amendment
Google Tells All on Biden Admin.’s Digital Censorship Pressures against Conservative Critics: Alphabet/Google/YouTube respond to House Judiciary Committee subpoenas. • Jim Jordan Celebrates YouTube Ending Conservative Censorship: ‘A Win For Free Expression’
Trade
Grassley raises alarm about soybean farmers, Argentina 'bail out' • Grassley disappointed over lack of progress on soybean trade talks with China • Pledged support for Argentina stirs anger among Republicans • 'This is awful discouraging': Iowa farmer warns of potential crisis as China halts soybean purchases • ‘Everything, everywhere, all at once’: Tariffs, costs and disease squeeze Iowa farms • Argentina Bailout Attracts Fierce Criticism: Chuck Grassley Says Farmers 'Very Upset' About Buenos Aires Shipping Soybeans To China
Federal Spending — Committees: House, Senate — FY 2026 bills, table
5 things to watch as government funding possibly lapses • Thune: Democrats need to ‘dial back’ demands to avoid shutdown “I think there are off-ramps here, but I don’t think that the negotiating position, at least at the moment, that the Democrats are trying to exert here is going to get you there.” • Thune does not want to get too far in front of the president in any negotiation with Schumer • Gaming out the politics of a shutdown “In 35 years of shutdown showdowns, the Democratic position has almost always been that a “clean” or unconditional extension of current funding levels is the obviously correct answer.” • GOP, Democrats both see incentives in a shutdown that looks inevitable
Shutdown could bolster White House’s legal case for ‘RIFs’ “some experts say a shutdown may give the administration more solid legal backing for mass government layoffs than they’ve cited previously.” • Ahead of potential shutdown, White House tells agencies to prep mass layoffs, ramps up pressure on Democrats: “Let’s just say that everything Trump has called ‘woke,’ Mr. Vought has decided is not essential, and what he hasn’t called ‘woke’ is essential”
Cracks form among Senate Democrats as Trump threatens big shutdown layoffs Senate Democratic sources say Trump’s threat to use the shutdown as a justification to order agencies to fire federal employees working for programs that are “not consistent with the president’s priorities” raises tough questions about whether it’s worth triggering a shutdown to put pressure on Republican leaders to make concessions on health care spending. — Possible Yes Democrats: Fetterman (PA), Shaheen (NH), Durbin (IL), Peters (MI), Cortez Masto (NV), Hassan (NH), Gillibrand (NY), King (ME)
Speaker Johnson in Louisiana: Discusses GOP Efforts to Keep Government Funded, Negative Effects of Potential Democrat Shutdown “The Democrats are trying to play partisan games with it. They said, we’re not going to vote to keep the government open unless you restore free healthcare to illegal aliens, unless you roll back the $50 billion you guys set aside for rural hospitals in red states, and unless you give a half a billion dollars to NPR, right? That’s their demands, among other things. They want to spend $1.5 trillion additional dollars on a seven-week, simple, clean stopgap funding measure. We’re not doing it. We’re not going to do that.” • Race to Stop a Shutdown Stalls in Senate Here’s the irony. In the Democrats’ attempt to send a message to the base that “they’re fighting,” the reality is, “they’re not even really fighting with Donald Trump, because in a government shutdown, who gets the power of the purse? It’s no longer Congress. In a shutdown, the president gets the power of the purse.
Shutdown fight leaves Democrats with no good options: With the hourglass winding down to the Tuesday night deadline, that leaves Democrats in a tough spot as they embrace a role they’ve rarely adopted: The party making demands in a shutdown fight.
Spending debate must also deal with abortion: Pro-life groups argue enhanced tax credits for ACA insurance premiums function as an indirect subsidy for abortion.
The United States Has Spent $110 Billion on AIDS Prevention. Less Than Half of the Money Went to Medical Supplies and Health Workers, a State Department Audit Found.
Supreme Court allows US to cancel $4 billion in foreign aid funds
Executive — Committees: House, Senate
Grassley urges Noem to stop approving work authorizations for student visa holders: "Competition from foreign graduates is contributing to rising unemployment rates among college-educated Americans. This should not be the case," Grassley wrote. "Congress placed caps on employment visas for foreign graduates to ensure that American jobs are filled by American graduates."
Trump nominates senior White House aide as top US prosecutor in Virginia: Erik Siebert was serving as the top federal prosecutor in Virginia but resigned while Trump administration officials consider bringing charges against New York Attorney General Letitia James over alleged mortgage fraud related to James’ Brooklyn townhouse and a Virginia home.
Democratic senator: FAA’s proposed Boeing fine is inadequate Blumenthal called the FAA’s proposed $3.1 million fine “little more than a rounding error for Boeing” given that the company generated nearly $39 billion in revenue over the two quarters in which the violations allegedly occurred.
Supreme Court
House Files Amicus Brief Supporting the Petitioners in West Virginia v. B.P.J.
The House amicus brief explains Congress’s reasons for passing Title IX. Different physiologies require separate teams to ensure fair competition.
Justice — Punishing Evil, Praising Good (Romans 13:3-4; 1 Peter 2:14)
Problem Solvers Caucus members condemn political violence amid Kirk assassination
Corruption — Praising Evil, Punishing Good (Isaiah 5:20)
Senate investigates abortion allegations in Fairfax County Public Schools in northern Virginia
Commerce Policy — Committees: Senate, House
Lawmakers want driverless vehicle rules in transportation bill
Senators question tech companies about H-1B visas, layoffs
Congress — Committees: House, Senate
Adelita Grijalva wins special election to fill father's House seat in Arizona
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Week Committee Activity — Reports: 1 • Legislative action this week:
All committee legislative action • Senate (Subcommittees) • House (Subcommittees)
House Oversight panel launches probe into China's influence in Panama: Comer: "The Panama Canal hosts approximately 40 percent of the United States container traffic, which accounts for roughly $240 billion annually in trade"
Committee news this week: Senate (Google News)
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3 p.m., Monday, September 29, 2025
Program for Monday: Senate will resume consideration of S. 2296, National Defense Authorization Act. — Pending Amendments
At approximately 5:30 p.m., Senate will, Lord willing, vote on the motion to invoke cloture on the nomination of Michael G. Waltz, of Florida, to be Representative of the United States of America to the Sessions of the General Assembly of the United Nations during his tenure of service as Representative of the United States of America to the United Nations.
Following which, after a period of debate, Senate will, Lord willing, vote on confirmation of the nomination thereon, and vote on the motion to invoke cloture on the motion to proceed to consideration of S. 2806, Eliminate Shutdowns Act, to provide for automatic continuing appropriations.
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The House meets in Pro Forma sessions during:
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About Capitol Hill Prayer Partners
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