The Senate voted 14 on Tuesday (November 4) to reject a House-passed short-term government funding bill that guaranteed the ongoing shutdown would enter record territory. The measure, which needed 60 votes to advance, failed 54-44, extending a spending impasse that has already crippled federal operations.
Three senators — Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), John Fetterman (D-Pa.) and Angus King (I-Maine) — split to support passage of the measure, while Rand Paul (R-Ky.) opposed it. Thom Tillis (RN.C.) and Cory Booker (DN.J.) missed the vote.
Democrats demand negotiations on health care
Senate Democrats voted down a Republican-backed bill again, insisting that President Donald Trump must negotiate the expiring health care tax credits before agreeing to reopen the government.
Effects on shutdown
As the shutdown drags on, its economic and social toll is becoming increasingly clear. Hundreds of thousands of federal workers remain unpaid, and many are turning to food banks. Flight delays are increasing due to understaffing between air traffic controllers and TSA agents.
Meanwhile, the 42 million Americans who rely on SNAP food benefits will receive only about half of their monthly allowance in November. The Trump administration had planned to completely halt federal SNAP funding starting Saturday, but a federal judge ordered the Agriculture Department to use emergency funds to keep the program going.
A record shutdown is imminent
If the shutdown continues through Wednesday, it will surpass the 35-day shutdown during Trump’s first term — the longest in U.S. history. That 2018–19 shutdown resulted from a deadlock over Trump’s border wall funding request, which Democrats refused to support.
The current bill passed by the House would fund the government until Nov. 21, but the impasse will require Congress to extend the deadline again.
