Schumer signals GOP funding bill support as shutdown deadline nears

[CRAIG NIGRELLI]

GOOD MORNING

I’M CRAIG NIGRELLI

IT’S FRIDAY, MARCH 14, 2025.

AND THESE ARE YOUR UNBIASED UPDATES:

AN ABOUT FACE ON A STOP-GAP FEDERAL SPENDING BILL.  THE KEY DEMOCRAT WHO HAS DECIDED TO VOTE “YES”, WHY NOW AND WHAT TO EXPECT LATER TODAY,  AS THE CLOCK TICKS TOWARD A POSSIBLE GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN. 

ALSO, AN AMERICAN AIRLINES FLIGHT, CATCHES FIRE WITH NEARLY 200 PEOPLE BOARD.,  PASSENGERS FORCED TO CLIMB OUT, ONTO THE WING TO GET AWAY FROM THE FLAMES AND SMOKE.  THE DISASTER IN DENVER AND THE NUMBER OF TRAVELERS  WHO GOT HURT.  

AS A FEDERAL GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN LOOMS IN A MATTER OF HOURS — SENATE MINORITY LEADER CHUCK SCHUMER IS DOING A 180 ON HIS STANCE ON A REPUBLICAN SPENDING BILL THAT WOULD KEEP THE GOVERNMENT FUNDED,  AT ITS CURRENT LEVEL,  THOUGH SEPTEMBER.

ON WEDNESDAY — THE NEW YORK DEMOCRAT SPOKE ON THE HOUSE FLOOR, SAYING THE MEASURE WOULD NOT GET ENOUGH DEMOCRATIC VOTES to HELP REPUBLICANS GET TO 60 AND PASS IT,  BUT BY THURSDAY, SCHUMER SAID NOT PASSING THE BILL WOULD BE WORSE FOR AMERICANS.

Schumer said,

“For Donald Trump, a shutdown would be a gift. It would be the best distraction he could ask for from his awful agenda. Right now, Donald Trump owns the chaos in the government. He owns the chaos in the stock market. He owns the damage happening to our economy from one end of the country to the other.”

He continued,

“I believe it is my job to make the best choice for the country to minimize the harms to the American people. Therefore, I will vote to keep the government open and not shut it down. There is nobody in the world, nobody who wants to shut the government down more than Donald Trump and more than Elon Musk. We should not give it to them. Make no mistake, Democrats will continue to fight what Donald Trump is doing.”

SCHUMER’S SUPPORT INDICATES REPUBLICANS ARE LIKELY TO CLEAR THE 60-VOTE THRESHOLD NEEDED TO PASS THE BILL — BUT DOES NOT GUARANTEE IT.

AT LEAST SEVEN DEMOCRATS WILL NEED TO JOIN WITH REPUBLICANS TO SEND THE BILL TO PRESIDENT TRUMP’S DESK IN TIME TO AVOID tonight’s 11:59 P-M SHUTDOWN deadline. 

EVEN WITH SCHUMER’S SUPPORT, VARIOUS DEMOCRATIC SENATORS HAVE SPOKEN OUT, SAYING THEY WILL NOT VOTE IN FAVOR OF THE STOPGAP.

GEORGIA SENATOR RAPHAEL WARNOCK MADE CLEAR HE’S AMONG THEM — saying IN A POST ON X… QUOTE “THE ENTIRE CONVERSATION AROUND GOVERNMENT FUNDING IS WASHINGTON AT ITS WORST.

I CANNOT IN GOOD CONSCIENCE VOTE FOR A BILL THAT INCREASES COSTS FOR GEORGIANS, DEFUNDS CARE FOR SERVICE MEMBERS, AND SLASHES INVESTMENTS IN EDUCATION AND HEALTH CARE.”

Both ARIZONA SENATORS MARK KELLY AND RUBEN GALLEGO ALSO SAID IT’S A NO FROM THEM — WITH KELLY SAYING QUOTE “I CANNOT VOTE FOR THE REPUBLICAN PLAN TO GIVE UNCHECKED POWER TO DONALD TRUMP AND ELON MUSK.”

GALLEGO ALSO HIGHLIGHTING THE PRESIDENT’S RELATIONSHIP WITH BILLIONAIRE ELON MUSK IN HIS REASONING FOR SAYING NO TO THE BILL — posting to X, saying,

“I WON’T STAND BY AND ALLOW TRUMP TO GUT RESOURCES FOR HARDWORKING ARIZONANS ALL TO GIVE ELON AND HIS FRIENDS A TAX CUT”

IF PASSED, THE BILL WOULD CUT NON-DEFENSE SPENDING BY ABOUT 13 BILLION DOLLARS  AND BOOST DEFENSE SPENDING BY ABOUT 6 BILLION.

THE BILL WOULD ALSO GIVE THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION MORE POWER OVER HOW THE MONEY IS SPENT.

A FINAL VOTE IS EXPECTED LATER TODAY. 

NOW TO THE WAR IN UKRAINE — RUSSIAN PRESIDENT VLADIMIR PUTIN SAYS HE AGREES TO A U-S BROKERED 30-DAY CEASEFIRE PLAN, BUT HE STILL HAS SOME IMPORTANT QUESTIONS.

AT A NEWS CONFERENCE THURSDAY — PUTIN SUGGESTED UKRAINE HALT MOBILIZATION AND ANY TRAINING OF ITS TROOPS AND THAT OTHER NATIONS STOP SUPPLYING WEAPONS TO KYIV DURING THE CEASEFIRE.

THE NEWS CONFERENCE CAME AS PRESIDENT TRUMP’S SPECIAL ENVOY STEVE WITKOFF ARRIVED IN MOSCOW TO BRIEF KREMLIN OFFICIALS ON THE U.S.-backed PEACE PLAN.

UKRAINIAN OFFICIALS ALREADY ACCEPTED THE CEASEFIRE PROPOSAL.

UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY RESPONDED TO PUTIN’S COMMENTS — ACCUSING HIM OF DRAGGING OUT THE NEGOTIATIONS RATHER THAN REJECTING THE DEAL COMPLETELY.

MEANWHILE, THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION HAS  PLACED MORE SANCTIONS ON RUSSIAN OIL, GAS AND BANKING SECTORS.

THE LEGAL BATTLE OVER WHETHER TO END BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP IN THE UNITED STATES IS HEADED TO THE SUPREME COURT.

LAWYERS FOR PRESIDENT TRUMP ASKED THE SUPREME COURT ON THURSDAY TO LIFT A NATIONWIDE PAUSE ON THE PRESIDENT’S ORDER ENDING BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP FOR THE CHILDREN OF UNDOCUMENTED IMMIGRANTS AND FOREIGN RESIDENTS.

Critics of the president’s order including LEGAL EXPERTS SAY it VIOLATES THE 14-TH AMENDMENT THAT GRANTS ANYONE BORN IN THE UNITED STATES CITIZENSHIP.

THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION ARGUES LOWER COURTS WENT TOO FAR IN HANDING DOWN NATIONWIDE INJUNCTIONS BLOCKING THE POLICY. 

ACTING SOLICITOR GENERAL SARAH HARRIS WANTS  THE COURT TO LIMIT LOWER COURT INJUNCTIONS TO INDIVIDUALS OR GROUPS THAT SUED OVER TRUMP’S EXECUTIVE ORDER — AND POTENTIALLY TO PEOPLE WHO LIVE IN THE DEMOCRATIC-LED STATES THAT CHALLENGED IT, AS WELL.

MEANTIMES,  — THE PRESIDENT REPORTEDLY IS EXPECTED TO INVOKE A LITTLE-KNOWN 18TH-CENTURY LAW THAT WOULD SPEED UP HIS MASS DEPORTATION PLEDGE..

THE ALIEN ENEMIES ACT OF 17-98 GIVES THE PRESIDENT AUTHORITY TO DETAIN OR DEPORT THE NATIVES AND CITIZENS OF AN ENEMY NATION.

THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION WOULD USE THE LAW TO TARGET MEMBERS OF THE VIOLENT VENEZUELAN GANG TREN DE ARAGUA — WHICH THE PRESIDENT  DESIGNATED A FOREIGN TERRORIST ORGANIZATION ON HIS FIRST DAY IN OFFICE.

The U.S. has invoked the law three times — all during wartime, with the last time being during World War 2. 

THIS MORNING, we have ANOTHER AIRLINE DISASTER this year TO TELL YOU ABOUT.  THIS TIME IN COLORADO.

AN AMERICAN AIRLINES PLANE THAT WAS FLYING FROM COLORADO SPRINGS TO DALLAS-FORT WORTH,  WITH 178 people on board,  WAS FORCED TO MAKE AN EMERGENCY LANDING IN DENVER  AFTER THE CREW REPORTED THAT VIBRATIONS WERE COMING FROM THE ENGINE. 

AFTER THE PLANE LANDED AT ABOUT 5:15 LAST NIGHT, IT CAUGHT FIRE, WHILE TAXIING TO THE GATE.  PASSENGERS WERE FORCED TO STAND ON THE WING, TO TRY TO GET OUT OF HARM’S WAY, AS SMOKE POURED FROM THE PLANE. 

A SPOKESPERSON FOR THE AIRPORT SAYS A DOZEN PEOPLE SUFFERED MINOR INJURIES AND were taken to THE HOSPITAL.  

THE PLANE IS A BOEING 737-800. 

THE F-A-A IS NOW INVESTIGATING.

THERE HAVE BEEN AT LEAST A HALF-DOZEN HIGH-PROFILE PLANE INCIDENTS TO START 2025,  INCLUDING A DEADLY MID-AIR COLLISION BETWEEN AN AMERICAN AIRLINES FLIGHT AND A BLACK HAWK HELICOPTER NEAR WASHINGTON D.C.

IN LATE JANUARY.  A PLANE ON A MEDICAL MISSION CRASHED INTO A NEIGHBORHOOD JUST DAYS LATER IN PHILADELPHIA.  THERE WERE ALSO TWO DEADLY PLANE CRASHES IN ARIZONA RECENTLY AND ONE IN ALASKA.  

And — ACROSS THE BORDER, A DELTA FLIGHT FROM MINNEAPOLIS SKIDDED OFF THE RUNWAY AND FLIPPED OVER WHILE LANDING AT TORONTO’S PEARSON INTERNATIONAL

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAYS A CROSS-COUNTRY STORM WILL intensify IN STRENGTH AS IT MOVES OVER THE CENTRAL U-S TODAY — BRINGING EXTREME WEATHER TO MILLIONS THROUGH THE WEEKEND.

THE SYSTEM IS SHAPING UP TO CREATE A WIDESPREAD SEVERE THUNDERSTORM OUTBREAK ACROSS THE MISSISSIPPI VALLEY AND THE SOUTH FRIDAY AFTERNOON — WITH THE THREAT OF TORNADOES, DAMAGING WIND GUSTS AND LARGE HAIL.

ON THE STORM’S NORTHERN SIDE, ITS WINDS COULD CREATE BLIZZARD-LIKE CONDITIONS IN THE MIDWEST.

THE TORNADO THREAT IS EXPECTED TO INCREASE ON SATURDAY, WITH THE STORM PREDICTION CENTER SAYING THE SOUTH WILL SEE THE MOST DESTRUCTIVE WEATHER.

AS MILLIONS BRACE FOR THESE STORMS — THERE’S AN INCREASED WILDFIRE THREAT… WITH THE STORM PREDICTION CENTER SAYING WINDS WILL LEAD TO EXTREMELY CRITICAL FIRE WEATHER CONDITIONS FROM TEXAS THROUGH KANSAS.

FINALLY THIS MORNING — FINGERS are most likely being CROSSED at BOTH CAPE CANAVERAL, FLORIDA AND THE INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION after hearing some SOME ENCOURAGING NEWS. 

SPACEX SAYS THE HYDRAULIC ISSUE THAT POSTPONED its MISSION WEDNESDAY, IS NOW FIXED AND THE CREW IS ONCE AGAIN, CLEAR FOR TAKEOFF tonight.

THE MISSION, IF SUCCESSFUL, WOULD BRING TWO STRANDED American ASTRONAUTS, HOME,  FROM THE SPACE STATION. 

BUTCH WILMORE AND SUNI WILLIAMS HAVE BEEN IN SPACE SINCE JUNE OF LAST YEAR AFTER THEY WENT-UP ON THE BOEING STARLINER for a weeklong mission.  BUT THE STARLINER RETURNED, UNMANNED, IN SEPTEMBER DUE TO SEVERAL PROBLEMS WITH THE SPACECRAFT.  

THE SPACEX MISSION WILL BRING FOUR new astronauts TO THE I-S-S.  SPACEX MANAGERS POSTPONED THE LAUNCH WEDNESDAY, LESS THAN AN HOUR BEFORE LIFTOFF, DUE TO A PROBLEM WITH A SUPPORT CLAMP ARM ON THE FALCON 9 ROCKET.  THE CLAMPS HOLD THE ROCKET ON THE PAD AND IF THEY DO NOT OPEN EVENLY, it COULD CAUSE THE ROCKET TO TIP. 

TONIGHT’S LAUNCH IS SET FOR 7:03 PM EASTERN AND THE WEATHER LOOKS LIKE IT WILL COOPERATE.