Fourth vote to fund the government fails in Senate

A Republican continuing resolution to keep the government funded for seven weeks failed again during a Friday afternoon vote. The Senate has voted on the same resolution four times. On Friday, three Democrats joined the GOP side in favor of reopening the government, but this failed to cross the 60-vote threshold to pass legislation. No further votes were scheduled on Friday, setting up the lapse in funding to extend at least until the Senate’s Monday return. Some government offices have shut their doors since the funding authorization ended Tuesday.

House Speaker Mike Johnson canceled House votes that had been scheduled for next week. He said he would extend the recess because there was no work for members to do until the government is funded.

Has there been any progress in the negotiation? Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said on Friday he had a brief chat with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. Thune said a breakthrough is likely to happen when other Democratic senators buck Schumer’s leadership and vote for the GOP bill.

Congressional leaders have not had any further meetings with the White House. President Trump and his Cabinet members are looking into permanent workforce cuts in several government agencies, particularly in the Department of Energy. During a press briefing on Friday afternoon, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said layoffs could be a consequence of the lapse in government funding. Thousands of federal employees have been furloughed and services have been canceled—for instance, the Bureau of Labor Statistics did not release a jobs report as scheduled on Friday because of the shutdown. 

Dig deeper: Read Leo Briceno’s report on how each party is blaming the other for the shutdown.