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Senate rejects both parties’ bills to avoid a shutdown, leaving next steps uncertain
Published Fri, Sep 19 202511:08 AM EDT
WASHINGTON — The Senate voted Friday to block dueling Republican and Democratic proposals to keep the federal government funded on a short-term basis, raising the chances of a shutdown at the end of the month.
The Republican plan, which passed by GOP-controlled House by a vote of 217-212 earlier Friday, fell short of the 60 votes needed to break a filibuster in the Senate: The vote was 44-48.
A competing Democratic plan also failed to clear the 60-vote threshold. That vote was 47 to 45, along party lines, with seven senators — all Republicans — missing the vote.
The failures underscore the divide between the two parties and leave Congress with no clear path forward to avoid a government shutdown that is set to begin on Oct. 1 at 12:01 a.m. Both chambers are expected to take at least part of next week off for Rosh Hashanah.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and other Democrats had vowed to defeat the House GOP bill, which would have funded the government at current spending levels through Nov. 21. Republicans did not negotiate the bill with Democrats prior to its release, and the minority party instead offered their own funding legislation.
The measure backed by Democrats in both chambers would have funded the government through Oct. 31 with a series of policy add-ons. It would permanently extend Obamacare subsidies set to expire at the end of the year, as well as reverse Medicaid cuts enacted in President Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful bill.”
It also aimed to address Trump funding cuts that have infuriated Democrats in recent months: It would lift the freeze on foreign aid funding that the White House is withholding through “pocket rescissions” and restore funding for public broadcasting.
“Democrats have a different option. We address the crises Americans face in health care, in Medicaid, in inflation and in higher costs,” Schumer told reporters Thursday.
Just one Democrat, Rep. Jared Golden of Maine, joined Republicans in voting for the House GOP spending bill. Two Republicans — Reps. Thomas Massie of Kentucky and Victoria Spartz of Indiana — joined all other Democrats to vote against the bill.
In the Senate, Democrats have stiffened their resolve against backing a bill they didn’t sign off on. That’s a shift from March, when 10 Democrats — including Schumer — voted to pass a six-month bill written by Republicans.
What happens next is uncertain.
Any bill to avert a shutdown and buy appropriators more time to strike a longer-term funding deal must be bipartisan to clear the Senate’s 60-vote threshold.
Schumer and other Democrats noted that Trump has publicly called on House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., not to sit down and negotiate with Democrats on the short-term funding bill.
“Donald Trump made it clear, don’t even bother dealing with the Democrats,” Schumer said, referencing an interview Trump gave to Fox News. “Thune and Johnson listen to Trump. They are not independent actors. They don’t represent an independent Congress, an independent House or an independent Senate. And when Donald Trump says don’t negotiate with Democrats, they don’t and come up with 20 excuses.”
In the wake of the Charlie Kirk assassination, the House bill includes $58 million for additional executive and judicial branch security. It also includes $30 million for extra security for members of Congress, including mutual aid, which reimburses local police for costs incurred protecting lawmakers at their homes or at town halls and other public events. The Democratic alternative also includes enhanced security money.
Johnson, in an appearance on Fox News on Thursday night, defended the GOP legislation, which is backed by Trump. Johnson has characterized it as a “clean” CR, a point disputed by Democrats who argue it extends “status quo” funding levels that were driven down by Trump’s cuts.
“Chuck Schumer chose to try to make this a partisan exercise, and Hakeem Jeffries as well. And it’s wrong to do that,” Johnson told reporters Friday after the successful House vote. “And so if they choose to vote against this clean, completely nonpartisan CR, then they will be choosing to shut the government down, and they will own the consequences of what happens following that.”
Unless the House and the Senate can pass the same funding legislation and earn Trump’s signature, the government will shut down Oct. 1, the start of the new fiscal year. In a shutdown, mandatory services, such as Border Patrol, the Postal Service and Social Security, will continue, but federal workers, including the military, will go unpaid.
Both the House and the Senate are scheduled to be on recess next week. The House had planned to be back in session Sept. 29 and 30, but GOP leaders on Friday scrapped those days to put more pressure on Senate Democrats to swallow the House-passed bill.
Appropriations Committee leaders in both parties are negotiating even more security funding in their spending bills for fiscal year 2026.
“When you have a big event like we had with the tragic shooting of our friend Charlie Kirk, it draws attention to it, and we’re in a constant process of improvement, making sure that we have the latest and greatest technology and resources available,” Johnson said on Fox.
“So that’s the process we’ve been going through. We’re adding additional funding and measures to ensure that everybody is safe and that they can do their job representing the people from back home.”