Senate Democrats privately debated on Wednesday how to respond to Senate Majority Leader John Thune's plan to jam them on a vote over funding the Defense Department.
Why it matters: Key Democrats signaled to Axios they were prepared to block a procedural motion to advance the defense funding bill on Thursday.
- Still, confusion reigned inside the Democratic caucus on what kind of package Thune (R-S.D.) would ultimately bring to the floor, making it difficult for Democrats to settle on a final strategy.
- They insisted they need to know whether Thune will bring a standalone defense bill to the floor — or if he'll pair it with other appropriations packages.
- "If we have to vote with no clarity about that, I would vote against proceeding to the House defense approps bill," Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.), an appropriator, told Axios on Wednesday.
Between the lines: Thune has yet to publicly indicate whether he plans to package the bills together, although he has said he is open to the idea.
The big picture: Internally, Democrats are split on whether voting to support the defense bill is the best strategic move in the middle of a partisan government shutdown battle.
- During their closed-door Wednesday caucus meeting, some Democrats argued it would be bad to be seen as voting against funding troops and the Defense Department, per multiple sources.
- But others think that voting to proceed with the defense bill relinquishes some of the party's leverage over shutdown negotiations, distracting from the goal of drawing concessions from Republicans on health care.
- "We are weeks away from people getting notified of skyrocketing health care costs," Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), a Navy veteran, told Axios. "That should be the focus, not a single defense appropriations bill coming from the House."
The bottom line: The uncertainty over how the defense bill will be brought to the floor underscores just how little trust exists between the two parties in the Senate.
