Sen. Mike Lee rips Christmas Eve spending drama: ‘Extortive threat’

Sen. Mike Lee said Democratic leaders are setting up an extortive threat" by forcing lawmakers to either accept more federal spending or force a partial government shutdown.

House and Senate leaders are setting up a vote this week on a short-term spending bill to keep the government running until Dec. 23, allowing more time to write and pass a full-year spending bill next week. That agreement between House and Senate Democrats is likely to find enough support from Senate Republicans to pass it, but has no input from House Republicans, many of whom oppose new spending and want to focus on this issue next year when they control the House. Pete Kasperowicz is a politics editor at Fox News Digital.

Lee and his spending hawk Republican colleagues in the Senate agree with those House Republicans, and Lee accused Democratic leaders of using the Christmas holiday as leverage to get it done next week. Lee said Congress should instead pass a bill that funds the government for another few weeks to give the incoming GOP majority House time to deal with spending next year.