Senate Deadlock: Government Shutdown Looms as Funding Bills Fail
Senate Deadlock: Government Shutdown Looms as Funding Bills Fail
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Senate is on the brink of a government shutdown after both Republican and Democratic proposals to secure short-term federal funding were blocked on Friday. The legislative impasse significantly elevates the risk of a shutdown commencing on October 1.
A Republican-backed plan, which narrowly passed the House earlier Friday with a 217-212 vote, failed to garner the necessary 60 votes to overcome a Senate filibuster, ending with a 44-48 tally. Only one Democrat, Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, crossed party lines to vote yes, while Republican Sens. Rand Paul of Kentucky and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska voted no.
Similarly, a competing Democratic measure also fell short of the 60-vote threshold, failing 47-45 strictly along party lines, with seven Republican senators absent from the vote.
The dual failures underscore a deep partisan chasm, leaving Congress without a clear path to avert a government shutdown scheduled for October 1 at 12:01 a.m. Adding to the urgency, both chambers are slated for recess next week in observance of Rosh Hashanah.
President Donald Trump, speaking from the Oval Office on Friday afternoon, criticized Democrats, stating, “We’ll continue to talk to the Democrats, but you could very well end up with a closed country for a period of time.”
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and other Democrats had previously vowed to defeat the House GOP bill, which proposed funding the government at current levels until November 21. Democrats argued the bill was drafted without bipartisan negotiation and offered their own legislation, which aimed to fund the government through October 31, include permanent extensions for Obamacare subsidies, reverse Medicaid cuts, and restore frozen foreign aid and public broadcasting funds.
With no bipartisan agreement in sight, the government faces an imminent shutdown unless both chambers can pass identical funding legislation and secure presidential approval. Critical services such as Border Patrol, the Postal Service, and Social Security would continue, but federal employees, including military personnel, would face unpaid leave.
House GOP leaders, in a strategic move to pressure Senate Democrats, cancelled planned sessions for September 29 and 30. Meanwhile, Appropriations Committee leaders from both parties continue negotiations on security funding for fiscal year 2026, intensified by recent events, including the assassination of Charlie Kirk, leading to calls for increased executive, judicial, and congressional security funding.
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