NC lawmakers disagree on who’s to blame if stalemate ends in government shutdown
Happy Monday! It’s Danielle Battaglia with the latest edition of Under the Dome focused on the Trump administration.
All of Washington is watching the clock for 11:59 p.m. Tuesday. It’s at this moment, if Congress doesn’t pass 12 appropriations bill or a continuing resolution to keep the government funded at current levels, the government shuts down.
This is nothing new. I talk about it every September, and then what feels like every six weeks afterward as lawmakers continue to punt the deadline further into the year.
However, this deadline feels different.
First off, members of the U.S. House aren’t scheduled to be in Washington until after the deadline. The U.S. Senate doesn’t return until 3 p.m. today, giving them little time to spring into action.
And Democrats and Republicans are in a stalemate over government funding.
House Republicans passed a bill two weeks ago, known as a continuing resolution, or a CR, that would continue government funding at its current levels through Nov. 21. But they refused to negotiate terms of that agreement with Democrats. And Senate Democrats ensured the bill didn’t pass in their chamber.
House Democrats posted on social media: “Republicans control the House, Senate and White House. If the government shuts down because they refuse to pass a bipartisan spending bill, it will be on Republicans.”
Rep. Richard Hudson, a Republican from Southern Pines who leads the National Republican Congressional Committee, responded with: “Blatantly false. Last week, the @HouseGOP voted to keep the government open and sent our clean, nonpartisan short-term government funding bill to the Senate. Now, Democrats are threatening to shut down the government unless their demands are met ...”
Democrats want to include in the CR three things: reversing Medicaid cuts from the One Big Beautiful Bill, preventing President Donald Trump from asking Congress to walk back financial earmarks lawmakers previously set, and permanently extending a financial assistance program found in the Affordable Care Act that lowers health insurance premiums.
Republicans say that’s asking for too much, and blame Democrats if the government shuts down.
The chambers’ minority leaders, Sen. Chuck Schumer and Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, tried to meet with Trump about their requests, and while Trump initially agreed, on Tuesday he announced he canceled the Thursday meeting.
On Thursday, Trump answered CBS’ Ed O’Keefe’s question about whether there could be a shutdown with, “Could be, yeah.”
And to add to pressure on Democrats, the Trump administration threatened mass firings if the government shuts down. Typically in a government shutdown, government employees are furloughed and then receive back pay after they return to work. But Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought said to expect permanent firings this time.
“They’d rather shut down the government than extend tax credits people need to afford insurance,” said Rep. Deborah Ross, a Democrat from Raleigh, in a post on social media. “Now, Trump is threatening to fire federal staff over the shutdown he’s causing. Trump is not working to help Americans.”
Delivering postcards to Tillis
In other news, but speaking of firing employees, protesters gathered outside Sen. Thom Tillis’ Raleigh office Thursday morning to demand he speak out against Trump’s firing of roughly 1,300 diplomats in the U.S. State Department, my colleague, Kyle Ingram reported.
“Those who have worn the uniform understand that when diplomacy fails, it is America’s sons and daughters who bear the consequences,” Scott Peoples, a member of Veterans for Responsible Leadership, said. “Every cut to the State Department increases the likelihood that our service members will be asked to do what diplomats could have prevented.”
There were only about 10 protesters, but they delivered over 500 postcards from North Carolina voters to the office, all of which urged Tillis to denounce the purge to “protect America’s safety, security and prosperity.”
“Your record in support of NATO and other diplomatic solutions gives me hope you will oppose this dangerous move,” one of the postcards, signed by a Cary resident, said. “We need skilled pros, not sycophants.”
Tillis, a Republican from Huntersville who is not seeking reelection after his term ends in 2027, has broken with the Trump administration several times in recent months, most notably over the One Big Beautiful Bill. It was his opposition to that bill, which is expected to cut Medicaid for hundreds of thousands of North Carolinians, that prompted Tillis to announce he would not seek reelection.
A spokesperson for Tillis did not respond to a request for comment about the protest.
Other stories we worked on:
- Tillis and state Senate leader Phil Berger worked together to preserve Medicaid expansion in North Carolina, until Berger received a call from then-Republican National Committee chairman Michael Whatley on behalf of the White House.
- Accused of trading a redraw of North Carolina’s 1st Congressional District for a Trump endorsement, Phil Berger denies making a deal with the president, but says he’s willing to redistrict again, Kyle Ingram reports.
- Vice President JD Vance spoke in Concord calling for stricter law enforcement in North Carolina after the death of Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska, Mary Ramsey reports. Vance claimed during his speech that Charlotte’s murder rates rivals the poorest countries, but Nora O’Neill found that claim doesn’t match the facts.
- Avi Bajpai spoke with longtime supporters of Senate candidates Michael Whatley and Roy Cooper to find out what kind of political experience they will bring to the race.
- Michael Whatley claimed in a speech last week that in the past three months, no immigrants crossed the U.S. border illegally, but the data doesn’t support that, Mary Ramsey reports.
- Former U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg spoke about his concern that “we’re in a season of violence,” during a speech at Duke University, covered by Avi Bajpai.
- Vice President Kamala Harris released her book “107 Days” detailing the shortest presidential run in U.S. history and of course, North Carolina and Roy Cooper get several mentions.
- Kendrick Marshall reported that late night comedian Jimmy Kimmel returned to television this week, but was still censored in several counties across North Carolina.
- Sen. Ted Budd held a remote hearing in Western North Carolina so other senators could hear about the Small Business Administration processes that delayed Helene recovery, Briah Lumpkins reported.
- U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced another $1.15 billion to North Carolina to help repair roads and bridges following Helene, Richard Stradling reported.
- North Carolina employers reacted after Trump announced a $100,000 fee for foreign worker visas, Brian Gordon reports. And Gordon and T. Keung Hui report on how that news could impact teacher recruitment for school districts. Gordon also breaks down which companies and school districts use the most H1-B visas.
That’s it for now. Be kind to each other. And check back tomorrow for the Under the Dome podcast.
If you have any feedback or tips for this edition of the newsletter feel free to reach out to me directly at dbattaglia@mcclatchydc.com.
Not a subscriber? Sign up on our website to receive Under the Dome in your inbox daily.
This story was originally published September 29, 2025 at 5:00 AM with the headline "NC lawmakers disagree on who’s to blame if stalemate ends in government shutdown."