Govt shutdown triggered after Senate Dems withhold crucial votes on funding patch

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(The Center Square) – U.S. Senators failed to pass a federal funding stopgap Tuesday evening after Democrats withheld the votes necessary for Republicans’ Continuing Resolution to pass.

As a result, the U.S. government will begin partially shutting down at 12:01 a.m., Wednesday, the first time in six years that lawmakers have let money for federal agencies lapse.

“This is not a shutdown that makes any sense at all to the American people," U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., told lawmakers after the 55-45 vote. "A shutdown means uncertainty. A shutdown means dysfunction."

Republicans’ CR, which already passed the House, would have extended current government funding levels until Nov. 21. This would buy lawmakers time to pass all 12 annual appropriations bills for fiscal year 2026. It also included $30 million for additional lawmaker security and $58 million for U.S. Supreme Court judges and members of the executive branch.

Despite the nonpartisan nature of the bill, almost all Democrats voted against the CR because it neglected to address the upcoming expiration of the enhanced Obamacare Premium Tax Credit. 

Democrats’ counter-proposal – which never passed the House and also failed to pass the Senate Tuesday evening – included health care-related policy riders costing up to $1.4 trillion. Democrats argued that by rejecting those policy proposals, Republicans were choosing to “gut” health care and shut the government down.

“I just voted NO on the Republican funding bill that does NOTHING to address premiums more than doubling next year,” Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., posted on X. “Republicans REFUSED to negotiate with Democrats and now they're forcing a shutdown rather than working with us to fix the health care crisis THEY created.”

Only Sens. John Fetterman, D-Pa.; Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev.; and Angus King, I-Maine, (who caucuses with Democrats) voted for both the Democratic and Republican CRs. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., voted no on both.

The Congressional Budget Office has estimated that “about 750,000 federal employees could be furloughed each day” during the shutdown, with the total daily cost of their compensation totaling $400 million.

Thousands of those workers could be permanently furloughed, given that the Trump administration has instructed federal agencies to consider eliminating certain positions during a shutdown, consistent with applicable law.