Senate fails to advance bills to fund government as shutdown looms JOHN PARKINSON, LAUREN PELLER and ALLISON PECORINSeptember 20, 2025 at 5:05 AM 16 The Senate on Friday failed to advance both the Housepassed shortterm government funding bill and the Democrat counteroffer, increasing the risk of gov...
- - Senate fails to advance bills to fund government as shutdown looms
JOHN PARKINSON, LAUREN PELLER and ALLISON PECORINSeptember 20, 2025 at 5:05 AM
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The Senate on Friday failed to advance both the House-passed short-term government funding bill and the Democrat counter-offer, increasing the risk of government shutdown early next month.
The Senate action came just hours after the House sent them the short-term funding bill. The Senate voted to block that Republican short-term funding bill, failing by a vote of 44-48.
Republican Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Rand Paul cast votes against the legislation. Democrat Sen. John Fetterman was the only Democrat to vote for it.
MORE: Democrats set fight over health care as possible government shutdown looms
As expected, senators also failed to advance the Democrat funding bill with extraneous health care provisions by a vote of 47-45.
This leaves the Congress no closer to a government funding solution with the Oct. 1 deadline fast approaching.
Jose Luis Magana/AP - PHOTO: Senate Majority Leader John Thune, speaks during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Sept. 19, 2025.
Ahead of the two votes Friday afternoon, party leaders from both sides of the aisle dug in on their positions, pointing fingers at the other side.
On Friday morning, Majority Leader John Thune urged passage of the House's clean short-term funding solution to allow more time for work on full-year appropriations bills. The House-passed proposal funds the government for 52 days, through Nov. 21.
Democrats, he said, would bear the responsibility for a shut down if they block the just-passed House bill from proceeding.
"If they want to shut down the government, they have the power to do so, but if they think they are going to gain political points from shutting down the government over a clean nonpartisan CR, something they voted for 13 times under the Biden administration, I would strongly urge them to think again," Thune said.
He accused Democrats of throwing an "endless temper tantrum" by refusing to keep the lights on with a stopgap funding bill.
Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images - PHOTO: Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer speaks to media during a press conference at the Capitol, Sept. 19, 2025.
But Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, moments later, made a pitch instead for the Democrat continuing resolution, which included a number of health care provisions Democrats want. Republicans, he said, haven't been willing to negotiate with Democrats to secure their votes.
Ahead of the vote, Schumer said that "senators will have to choose to stand with Donald Trump and keep the same lousy status quo and cause the Trump health care shutdown, or stand with the American people, protect their health care and keep the government functioning."
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Thune, however, called this a "fundamentally unserious proposal designed to appease Democrat's liberal base" and said it had "zero chance of making it through the Congress."
Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images - PHOTO: Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA) speaks the the media after walking off the House floor at the US Capitol, on Sept. 19, 2025, in Washington, D.C.
Ahead of the Senate votes, Speaker Mike Johnson said that "the ball [was] in Chuck Schumer's court" to avoid a government shutdown.
"I hope he does the right thing," Johnson told reporters Friday following the House vote. "I hope he does not choose to shut the government down and inflict pain unnecessarily on the American people."
What's next?
The government shuts down on Oct. 1 if Congress doesn't act.
The Senate has departed town and is not expected to return for votes until Sept. 29 -- just hours before the government shutdown deadline.
Thune said the upper chamber will hold another vote on the House-passed funding bill when they return from recess.
Annabelle Gordon/Reuters - PHOTO: Senate Majority Leader John Thune holds a press conference following a vote in the U.S. Senate on a stopgap spending bill to avert a partial government shutdown in Washington, Sept. 19, 2025.
"This isn't the last vote that we are going to have on keeping the government open," Thune said. "There will be an opportunity for Democrats to vote on a bill that has already passed the House of Representatives."
"It is really a straightforward choice," Thune added, calling on Democrats to support the short-term funding measure that goes until Nov. 21 and provides additional funding for member security.
Meanwhile, Schumer is placing the blame on Republicans if the government shuts down.
"No plan. No talks. No urgency," Schumer said.
Annabelle Gordon/Reuters - PHOTO: Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., speaks during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Sept. 19, 2025.
"They left town. Donald Trump is the shutdown president and Senate Republicans are following him over the cliff," he added.
Schumer demanded Republicans and Trump come to the table and negotiate after both bills failed to advance on the Senate floor on Friday.
"It is clear that neither bill will get the 60 votes that the Senate needs, it is time to negotiate," he said.
"Donald Trump would rather shut the government than talk to Democrats about lowering the cost of health care for Americans," he said.
Source: "AOL General News"
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