It’s likely the US government will avert a debilitating shutdown on Saturday, said Sen. Ted Cruz.
“I think it’s probably not going to happen. I think we’re gonna see the Democrats cave,” Cruz (R-Texas) told me on Yahoo Finance’s Opening Bid podcast (video above).
Cruz, who has also been working to get support for his new No Tax on Tips bill, added, “I think at the end of the day, after all of the rage, you’re going to see the Democrats finally say, OK, we’re not going to shut the government down. But on the other hand, maybe their rage is so much that they have to force a shutdown just to satisfy the really angry left-wing base.”
Markets have been injected with extra volatility this week as another contentious battle on a government shutdown comes to a climax on Saturday.
Congressional leaders are working to avert a shutdown that would begin at 12:01 a.m. on Saturday.
Read more: How a government shutdown would impact your money, student loans, Social Security, investments, and more
House Republicans have passed a continuing resolution that would keep the federal government open through the end of summer. Government funding levels would be held steady. There would be a $6 billion boost to defense spending and a $10 billion hike for immigration and customs enforcement funding under the plan.
To counteract the costs, the continuing resolution would cut non-defense spending by about $13 billion.
The issue has now been handed off to Cruz and his fellow senators.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said Wednesday that most Democrats in the Senate would not approve the House’s continuing resolution.
“Funding the government should be a bipartisan effort, but Republicans chose a partisan path, drafting their [continuing resolution] without any input — any input — from congressional Democrats,” Schumer said on the Senate floor.
The last government shutdown was averted in late December 2024, despite resistance from then-President-elect Trump and supporter Elon Musk.
One of the longest government shutdowns on record began in Dec. 2018, during Trump’s first term as president, and lasted 35 days. Trump ended up backing down on demands for border wall funding to bring the shutdown to a close.
The full interview on Opening Bid with Sen. Ted Cruz will air on Friday at 8:30 a.m. ET and dives into a range of topics that are top of mind for investors, such as tariffs, Elon Musk, and DOGE. Tune in on all major streaming and podcast platforms or Yahoo Finance’s Streaming Now portal.
