SCOOP: GOP ramps up shutdown fight, targets 25 vulnerable Democrats in new ad blitz

FIRST ON FOX: The House Republicans’ campaign arm is launching a pressure campaign against vulnerable Democrats as the deadline for a government shutdown looms on Capitol Hill.

The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) is rolling out an ad campaign on Monday targeting 25 House Democrats in battleground districts, urging voters there to pressure their representatives to vote in favor of whatever government funding plan the GOP unveils.

The House and Senate have just seven planned working days left together before the end of fiscal year 2025 comes on Sept. 30. If a deal is not struck on federal funding by then, both Republicans and Democrats could face the political backlash of a partial government shutdown.

“Democrats are threatening a government shutdown to stop President Trump’s policies – like Trump’s crackdown on MS-13 and violent criminals,” a voice-over said in the short clip. “Democrats want to abolish ICE, allowing violent criminal illegal aliens roaming our streets. And to do it? They’re putting veterans’ care at risk while risking military pay, police and Border Patrol.”

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The clip ended with a message to voters: “Tell Democrats: Don’t hold the government hostage to put illegals before us.”

Republican leaders are expected to unveil a short-term extension of FY 2025 government funding levels, called a continuing resolution, or CR, this week.

Democrats have warned for weeks that they will not accept a government funding deal that was written without their input. They’ve also threatened to oppose any spending measure without guarantees that the Trump administration will not seek to cut back those funds down the line.

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“The American people are hurting because of how they have decimated healthcare. We need a bipartisan negotiation to undo that damage,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said during an appearance alongside House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., on Thursday.

“If they try to jam something down our throats without any compromise, without any bipartisan or real bipartisan discussion, they ain’t going to get the votes. Plain and simple.”

President Donald Trump, meanwhile, told Republicans on Friday not to work with Democrats on the issue, accusing them of making impossible demands.

“They want to give away money to this or that and destroy the country. If you gave them every dream, they would not vote for it,” Trump said on “Fox & Friends.” “Don’t even bother dealing with them.”

But Republican leaders are hoping that a “clean” CR, free of any additional partisan measures, will be enough to sway enough Democrats into voting to avert a shutdown. 

“Democrats currently are playing games with this government funding idea. They’re trying to bring in extraneous issues,” Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said on “Fox News Sunday.” “We may need a stopgap funding measure, a CR, for a short period of time to allow [funding] negotiations to continue. But it will be clean in its scope, and I surely hope the Democrats will not try to make this a big partisan fight.”

Congress passed a CR lasting from March through September 2025, with just one Democratic vote from Rep. Jared Golden, D-Maine.

Meanwhile, Schumer is under pressure from progressives to reject any GOP-led funding deal without compromises for the left after his vote was key to averting a shutdown in March.

“Out of touch House Democrats would rather grind our government to a halt than let President Trump crack down on violent criminals and secure our border,” NRCC spokesman Mike Marinella told Fox News Digital. “They’ll risk veterans’ care, military pay and public safety just to appease their radical base.”