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Senate Democrats on Thursday blocked a Republican-backed bill that would have funded the Pentagon for a full year as the federal government shutdown stretched into its 16th day.
The vote was 50-44, short of the 60 votes needed to advance the measure in the 100-member Senate. Nearly all Republicans supported the bill, while all but three Democrats voted against it.
Democrats said they opposed moving forward with military funding without also passing money for domestic programs such as healthcare and housing.
“It’s always been unacceptable to Democrats to do the defense bill without other bills that have so many things that are important to the American people in terms of healthcare, in terms of housing, in terms of safety,” Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer of New York told reporters before the vote.
Republicans accused Democrats of holding up the bill to maintain political leverage in the broader funding fight.
Republicans control the House, Senate and White House. However, with only 53 Senate seats, they still need Democratic support to clear the 60-vote threshold to advance most legislation required to reopen the government after the shutdown began on Oct. 1.
The $852 billion defense appropriations bill advanced out of committee earlier this year on a bipartisan 26-3 vote.
Democrats insist any funding deal to end the shutdown must include an extension of healthcare subsidies for roughly 24 million Americans set to expire at the end of the year.
On Wednesday, President Donald Trump signed an order directing Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to ensure active-duty service members continue to receive pay during the shutdown.
President Donald Trump said Saturday that all 1.3 million active-duty U.S. service members would receive their Oct. 15 paychecks despite the ongoing government shutdown, invoking his authority as commander-in-chief to override the normal budget rules, RSBN previously reported.
Under typical shutdown procedures, military personnel are required to report for duty but do not receive pay until funding is restored by Congress. The president said he ordered Secretary of War Pete Hegseth to locate alternative funds to ensure troops are paid on time.
“We have identified funds to do this, and Secretary Hegseth will use them to PAY OUR TROOPS,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “I will not allow the Democrats to hold our Military, and the entire Security of our Nation, HOSTAGE, with their dangerous Government Shutdown.”