Rep. Elissa Slotkin’s vote helps avert a federal government shutdown
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump had pressured members of Congress not to pass a stopgap government funding bill.

Michigan Democratic Rep. Elissa Slotkin voted with bipartisan majorities in Congress on Sept. 25 to approve a three-month stopgap spending bill and avoid a partial federal government shutdown. Dozens of Republican lawmakers opposed the legislation, however, after former President Donald Trump demanded they shut down the government unless Democrats agreed to last-minute changes to election laws, changes that could have prevented 13 million U.S. citizens from voting.
With the funding for the operation of the federal government set to expire at the end of September, the House of Representatives approved a continuing resolution to keep it operating until Dec. 20 and increase funding for the Secret Service by a vote of 341-82. The Senate then approved the legislation by a vote of 78-18, sending it to President Joe Biden, who signed the bill into law on Sept. 26. All “no” votes in both chambers were cast by Republicans.
For weeks, Trump pushed Republicans to block any continuing resolution unless it was paired with the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) Act, a Republican-backed bill that would require citizens to provide specific forms of identification to prove their eligibility to vote and would increase voter roll purges. Supporters claim the SAVE Act would curb noncitizen voting, which is statistically nonexistent and already prohibited.
“If Republicans don’t get the SAVE Act, and every ounce of it, they should not agree to a Continuing Resolution in any way, shape, or form,” Trump posted on social media. “BE SMART, REPUBLICANS, YOU’VE BEEN PUSHED AROUND LONG ENOUGH BY THE DEMOCRATS. DON’T LET IT HAPPEN AGAIN.”
But the House Republican majority could not muster the required votes to pass a six-month stopgap bill with that legislation attached, failing on a 202-220 vote on Sept. 18.
Every member of Michigan’s congressional delegation voted in favor of the stopgap.
“This evening, I voted along with an overwhelming bipartisan majority to keep the government funded through December and avoid a shutdown that would be costly for Michigan and our country. In addition to extending current funding levels, this measure also supports multiple bipartisan priorities, including the U.S. Secret Service and its work protecting Presidential candidates and support for communities affected by natural disasters,” Slotkin, the Democratic nominee for retiring Sen. Debbie Stabenow’s open seat, said in a statement. “When Congress returns in November, it should continue the bipartisan approach that led to this agreement and negotiate a budget free of partisan items. We do our best work when we work together – even when it’s hard. Our constituents expect their lawmakers to get in a room, hammer out a compromise, and move the ball forward for the American people – and they deserve nothing less.”
In the November election, Slotkin will face Republican former U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers, a vocal supporter of Trump. In January, Rogers called for a government shutdown to force action on border security. After the Biden administration reached a bipartisan deal to tighten security at the border, Trump successfully lobbied Republican lawmakers to kill it.
Experience shows that shutdowns damage the economy, hurt public servants, and leave Americans unable to access vital government services.
Without operational funding, the federal government can only provide the most essential of functions, and no federal workers receive pay for their work. That means no food safety inspections, no processing of Social Security applications, and no services for veterans.
Trump forced the longest partial government shutdown in U.S. history in December 2018 and January 2019. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimated at the end of it that it had reduced the nation’s gross domestic product by about $8 billion.
Ohio Republican Sen. J.D. Vance did not show up to vote on the stopgap bill; according to the Washington Post, Vance has missed every vote in the Senate since Trump selected him to be his running mate on July 15.