Overview
- The Senate rejected the House-passed stopgap 50-43, the 11th failed attempt to advance the bill, with Democrats Catherine Cortez Masto and Independent Angus King backing Republicans, Sen. Rand Paul voting no, and Sen. John Fetterman not voting.
- Republicans are preparing a vote as soon as midweek on a bill to pay military and other excepted federal workers during the lapse, but Hakeem Jeffries opposes it as giving the president discretion over who gets paid.
- Senate GOP leader John Thune urged House Republicans to reconvene to pass a new clean short-term funding bill, warning the calendar is squeezing time for full-year appropriations.
- Operational and economic strains are worsening, with hundreds of thousands of federal employees furloughed or working without pay and Moody’s Analytics’ Mark Zandi warning that 22 states are in or near recession and could be further weakened by a prolonged shutdown.
- Weekend ‘No Kings’ rallies and constituent messages to lawmakers from both parties to “keep fighting” reinforced hardened positions, even as Democrats debate tactics, exemplified by Nevada’s split between Sens. Jacky Rosen and Catherine Cortez Masto.