U.S. Senator Mazie K. Hirono from Hawaii has announced her decision to vote against the House Republican continuing resolution (CR) and its related cloture vote. The senator expressed her concerns about the partisan nature of the resolution.
Senator Hirono stated, "By forcing a choice between a deeply partisan CR that removes critical guardrails and a shutdown that would enable Trump and Musk to sow yet more chaos, Republicans have made clear that they are more concerned with pleasing Donald Trump than protecting the American people."
She emphasized that there was an opportunity for a bipartisan agreement that could have kept the government running with full appropriations bills. However, according to Hirono, Republicans decided to abandon those negotiations at a crucial moment. "It didn’t have to be this way—Republicans and Democrats were close to a bipartisan agreement that would have kept government open with full Appropriations bills. Republicans chose to walk away from those negotiations at the 11th hour," she added.
Senator Hirono concluded by stating her inability to support the current CR due to these reasons.