Government Shutdown Now Appears Inevitable

A government shutdown appeared inevitable Tuesday night after two stopgap funding measures were rejected in Senate votes. A House-passed resolution to extend funding for seven weeks, described by Politico as "the final off-ramp" to avoid a shutdown at 12:01am Wednesday, was defeated in a 55-45 vote. It needed 60 to pass. GOP Sen. Rand Paul opposed the legislation, meaning Republicans needed at least eight Democratic votes to avoid a filibuster, the AP reports. Democratic Sens. John Fetterman and Catherine Cortez Masto voted with the GOP, as did independent Sen. Angus King.

The Senate earlier rejected a Democratic funding bill in a 47-53 vote along party lines, the Hill reports. The package included around $1 trillion in health care provisions, the issue at the heart of the deadlock, as well as an extension of government funding. Democrats said they wouldn't relent until Republicans met their demands, chiefly an extension of Affordable Care Act subsidies due to expire at the end of the year. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said President Trump should "move heaven and earth" to deal with the issue because Americans will "hold him responsible when they start paying $400, $500, $600 a month more on their health insurance," the New York Times reports.

Senate Republicans said votes on the House-passed resolution would be held daily. "The Democrats' far-left base and far-left senators have demanded a showdown with the president," said Senate Majority Leader John Thune, per the Times. "And the Democrat leaders have bowed to their demands. And apparently, the American people just have to suffer the consequences." Thune has said he is willing to negotiate on healthcare spending, but not before government funding is extended.