Three members of the Senate Democratic caucus broke with Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (N.Y.) on Tuesday and voted for a House Republican-drafted bill to fund the government through Nov. 21, showing that Democrats disagree on how hard to go after the Trump administration.
Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), who is part of the Senate Democratic leadership team, voted for the GOP funding proposal together with Senator John Fetterman (D-Pa.) and Senator Angus King (Maine), an independent who works with Democrats.
The measure failed 55-45, even though it needed 60 votes to move forward.
Republicans will be introducing the bill again on Wednesday for a vote, where some believe even more Democrats could flip and pass the bill to re-open the government — which would be a brutal blow to Schumer.
Cortez Masto said she didn’t want to make things worse for her voters who are already having a hard time with rising costs and a faltering economy by putting the government at risk of shutting down.
“This administration doesn’t care about Nevadans, but I do. That’s why I cannot support a costly shutdown that would hurt Nevada families and hand even more power to this reckless administration,” she said in a statement.