The U.S. government is on the verge of a shutdown and Senate Democrats have found themselves in quite a dilemma.

According to The Hill, Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) will essentially challenge Senate Democrats after passing along the bill continuing resolution bill that was passed Tuesday in the Republican-controlled House. 

The political dilemma is that both parties would like to stay far away from being held responsible for a government shutdown, and Democrats are in a bad position in that regard as they obviously don't agree with much of what's in the spending bill.

They also do not want to take the blame for a shutdown as right now, publicity for the Democratic Party in general is not good in the wake of their landslide losses in the 2024 election.

What's happening?

Johnson is navigating tricky ground as it is, as he already has one detractor in the party -- Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY), who was the only Republican opposition vote on Tuesday.

Full Republican support and some Democratic support will be required in the Senate to pass the upper chamber's 60-vote threshold.

Johnson was right when he spoke just prior to the bill passing in the house, telling reporters, with confidence, that the bill would pass even with Massie's opposition. He then put it on Democrats to make it happen in the upper chamber.

"It will pass,” Johnson told reporters before the vote. "Because no one wants to shut the government down, and we are governing doing the responsible thing as Republicans. It’s going to be up to Chuck Schumer and the Senate Democrats to do the right thing."

Senate Democrats only have until Friday to get on board with the bill and get it to Trump's desk before a government shutdown happens.

The pressure is extreme, especially for vulnerable Senate Democrats who can't afford any more negative publicity.

What needs to happen?

In order for the bill to pass in the Senate, it will require added Democratic support, which would be eight Democratic senators voting with Republicans.

That's partly due to some Senate Republican detraction, including from Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), who said he's a firm "no" on passing the CR.

But getting that Democratic support looks to be an uphill challenge.

USA Today noted:

Senate Democrats have criticized the spending bill, also known as a continuing resolution. After a lengthy lunch meeting Wednesday with members of his party, Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said there are not enough Democrats willing to support the current funding measure.

Only time will tell if they're ready to be known as the party that let a shutdown happen when it didn't need to, simply because they dislike President Donald Trump.