Democrats in Washington led by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer prepare for a battle on government spending, and lawmakers in Tallahassee reemember state Sen. Geraldine Thompson.

Schumer says Senate Republicans don't have votes to break filibuster on spending bill

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said Wednesday that Republicans do not have enough Democratic votes to advance the GOP funding stopgap bill approved Tuesday.

Schumer’s declaration raises the prospects of a government shutdown this weekend. 

"Our caucus is unified on a clean April 11 CR that will keep the government open and give Congress time to negotiate bipartisan legislation that can pass. We should vote on that,” Schumer, D-N.Y., said on the Senate floor. 

A “clean CR” refers to a continuing resolution that maintains spending at current levels. The House bill would keep the government funded through September but trim $13 billion in non-defense spending from the levels in the 2024 budget year and increase defense spending by $6 billion.

On Monday, House Democrats proposed an alternate bill that would keep the government at current funding levels for four weeks in order to give lawmakers more time to negotiate a more longterm bipartisan deal.

The government will partially shut down if a funding bill is not passed and signed by the president by 11:59 p.m. EDT Friday.

Schumer’s comments came around the same time that House Democrats slammed the spending plan and encouraged their Democratic Senate colleagues to vote against it.

“The partisan Republican spending bill cut funding for veterans, for health care, for nutritional assistance,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., said during a news conference Wednesday. “It represented an across-the-board cut as it relates to non-defense discretionary funding important to the health, safety and economic wellbeing of the American people.”

While the Republican bill keeps spending levels roughly the same as last year, it does not include protections for Social Security, Medicare or Medicaid — the federal program that provides health care to 70 million Americans. 

On Tuesday, every House Republican except Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., voted for the legislation. Every House Democrat, except Rep. Jared Golden, D-Maine, voted against it.

For the stopgap to succeed, Senate Republicans need several Democrats to join them in order to break the filibuster. 

“We are faced with two prongs,” said House Minority Whip Katherine Clark, D-Mass. “One, we have a blank check to (the U.S. Doge Service) to keep on DOGE-ing and taking a chainsaw to the very programs that American families are saying they want us to protect.”

She said if the Republican bill had included protections for Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, House Democrats would have voted for it.

“After the Trump administration said this will be a path to further cuts in spending, that’s a path to stealing taxpayer dollars,” she said, adding that House Democrats’ message to the Senate is to stand with them on the side of working families.

Despite Republicans having control of the House, Senate and White House, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said Democrats would be blamed if they block the bill in the Senate and the government shuts down. 

“Chuck Schumer has a big decision to make: Is he going to cast a vote to keep the government open, or is he going to be blamed for shutting it down?” Johnson told Fox News on Wednesday. “And that’s clearly very simply what they have to decide, and I hope they do the right thing because government shutdowns — as they all said, they’re on video and have said a thousand times — is harmful for everybody. We don’t need that."

Nearly 100 arrested at Trump Tower protest demanding Columbia University activist's release

Demonstrators from a Jewish group filled the lobby of Trump Tower on Thursday to denounce the immigration arrest of Mahmoud Khalil, a pro-Palestinian activist who helped lead protests against Israel at Columbia University.

The Jewish Voice for Peace protesters, who carried banners and wore red shirts reading “Jews say stop arming Israel,” chanted “Bring Mahmoud home now!"

After warning the protesters to leave the Fifth Avenue building, officers arrested 98 of them on charges including trespassing, obstruction and resisting arrest, NYPD Chief of Department John Chell said at a news briefing. 

Chell said roughly 150 protesters were at the scene.

"There were no injuries, there were no incidents, there was no damaged property," he added.

Khalil, a 30-year-old permanent U.S. resident who is married to an American citizen and who hasn't been charged with breaking any laws, was arrested outside his New York City apartment on Saturday and faces deportation. He's being held at an immigration detention center in Louisiana.

President Donald Trump has said Khalil’s arrest was the first “of many to come” and vowed on social media to deport students who he said engage in “pro-terrorist, anti-Semitic, anti-American activity.” The White House didn't immediately respond to a message seeking comment about the Trump Tower demonstration.

Among those who took part in Thursday's protest was actor Debra Winger, who has discussed her Jewish faith and upbringing over the years.

Winger accused the Trump administration of having “no interest in Jewish safety” and “co-opting antisemitism.”

“I’m just standing up for my rights, and I’m standing up for Mahmoud Khalil, who has been abducted illegally and taken to an undisclosed location," she told The Associated Press. "Does that sound like America to you?”

After warning the protesters to leave the Fifth Avenue building, officers arrested 98 of them on charges including trespassing, obstruction and resisting arrest, NYPD Chief of Department John Chell said at a news briefing. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

Lawmakers in Tallahassee remember state Sen. Geraldine Thompson

State Sen. Geraldine Thompson spent more than a decade in Tallahassee, serving as a member of the state House and Senate.

Her death earlier this year left huge shoes to fill for her eventual successor. During a memorial service in the Senate chambers Thursday, fellow lawmakers reflected on the example she set.

The governor’s office has ordered flags to fly at half staff here and on state buildings plus all across Orange County

Florida lawmakers are commemorating the legacy of the late Thompson.

“She was the perfect blend of grace and strength. The perfect blend,” Senate President Ben Albritton said.

Friends and family Thursday celebrated in song and in prayer.

“Geraldine was a model of the best kind of public service, the kind that’s driven by a heart for justice, that builds up communities and that isn’t swayed by flattery or the pursuit of power,” state Sen. Tracie Davis said.

Thompson represented Central Florida for nearly two decades in the Florida Legislature.

Lawmakers remembered her Thursday as an educator and a civil rights leader.

“Senator Thompson embodied and exemplified the vision of the Florida legislative black caucus honoring the past. Lifting as we climb. Empowering the future,” state Sen. Darryl Rouson said.

Inside the Senate chamber, Thompson’s desk will rest vacant throughout the 2025 legislative session.

“When she spoke on the floor, everyone listened. She spoke with an authority and a knowledge of history that remains unrivaled,” state Sen. Tina Polsky said.

Lawmakers presented Thompson's family with a framed resolution honoring her legacy.

They also presented a signed letter from former President Barack Obama, who sent the family his regrets.