Senate Democrats on Wednesday blocked a stopgap funding measure for the 12th time, ensuring the government shutdown will enter its 23rd day.
The Senate voted 54-46 for the House-backed funding bill, falling short of the 60 votes needed for passage. Once again, Democrat Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada and John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, along with Angus King, I-Maine, who caucuses with Democrats, voted for the bill.
Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., again voted no, as did Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D. Thune's vote was a strategic ploy to enable a motion to reconsider, allowing Republicans to bring the bill back for another attempt, likely Thursday.
"Dems just voted down the House-passed CR to keep the government funded — for the 12th consecutive time," Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, wrote on X. "Tomorrow we'll be voting on @SenRonJohnson's bill to pay the salaries of federal workers required to work during the shutdown.
"How could they justify voting against that?"
The vote followed a 22-hour, 37-minute speech from Sen. Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., who held the floor overnight in protest of President Donald Trump's agenda. Merkley said his marathon oratory was intended to "ring the alarm bells" on what he called Trump's authoritarianism.
"We're in the most perilous moment, the biggest threat to our republic since the Civil War," he said at the start of his speech on Tuesday afternoon. "President Trump is shredding our Constitution."
Merkley criticized a range of policies and administrative actions, including mass deportation efforts, canceled research grants, the weaponization of the Department of Justice, and the administration's influence over business deals and broadcast licenses.
Merkley fell short of the record for the longest individual floor speech in Senate history — 25 hours and 5 minutes — set by Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J.
Michael Katz ✉
Michael Katz is a Newsmax reporter with more than 30 years of experience reporting and editing on news, culture, and politics.
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