Rick Scott is circulating a plan among Senate Republicans on government shutdowns in the United States before President Trump’s Wednesday lunch with GOP senators at the Capitol. The Florida senator wants colleagues to rally around a continuing resolution and avoid another funding lapse before the Sept. 30 deadline.
Scott wrote that Republicans should keep their focus on avoiding a shutdown and passing the SAVE America Act for the rest of the year. He also urged them to work on a clean stopgap funding measure to keep the government funded through the November midterm election.
Scott's Monday letter
In the letter circulated Monday, Scott told his conference, “I hope we can continue to have robust conversations as a conference this week as to how we should spend our time between now and the November elections. President Trump is scheduled to be at our Wednesday lunch. I hope everyone will be vocal as to what they think is the best path forward, but here is mine.” He added, “We need to make it clear to all Americans that Democrats want to shut down government and don’t care how it impacts federal workers or the economy and Republicans want to fund the government.”
Scott also wrote, “We need to make it clear Republicans want election security and Democrats want fraud,” and said Republicans should make “another effort” to pass the SAVE America Act or at least portions of it. He is linking that effort to shutdown politics as Congress moves toward the Sept. 30 deadline.
Democrats and Collins
The broader fight is over whether Senate Republicans can line up behind Scott’s approach before the deadline. Scott said Democrats are unlikely to help pass any of the 12 annual spending bills, which pushes Republicans toward a stopgap measure instead of separate full-year bills.
The dispute sharpened after Chuck Schumer last week accused Susan Collins of refusing to sit down with Democrats to negotiate a top-line spending limit. Collins denied that charge and called Schumer “misinformed” about the talks. Schumer also said, “Democrats support voter identification requirements,” after Senate Democrats voted earlier this year against an amendment sponsored by Jon Husted.
Shutdown bill choices
Scott is also urging Republicans to pass either the Shutdown Fairness Act or the Prevent Government Shutdowns Act of 2025 to shield workers from the effects of a shutdown. Ron Johnson sponsors the Shutdown Fairness Act, while James Lankford sponsors the Prevent Government Shutdowns Act of 2025.
Lankford’s bill would limit official travel and congressional recesses during a shutdown or partial shutdown. Scott’s letter puts those ideas beside the stopgap funding push, giving Senate Republicans two separate tracks: a short-term funding bill and bills aimed at limiting the fallout if Congress misses the deadline.
Whether Senate Republicans will actually unite behind Scott’s shutdown strategy before the Sept. 30 deadline now drives the next step, because a split conference would leave the choice between a continuing resolution and a funding lapse still open.
