Shutdown continues: Senate blocks bills to fund government amid fight over Trump border wall

There is no clear path to ending the partial government shutdown, the longest funding lapse in U.S. history.

The Senate blocked dueling bills to fund the government on Thursday, leaving no clear path to ending the longest government shutdown ever.

Both a Republican-backed proposal and a measure supported by Democrats did not get the 60 votes needed to pass. The Democratic plan to reopen the government without funding for President Donald Trump’s border wall — which Trump has explicitly threatened to veto — earned more votes in the GOP-held chamber.

The failure to find a resolution comes as 800,000 federal workers already stretched for cash start to miss a second paycheck on Friday and some government services suffer. Neither the president nor Democratic leaders have shown any willingness to back down even in the 34th day of the partial shutdown. Some bipartisan senators mounted calls for a bill to fund the government for three weeks while they find a larger immigration agreement.

A GOP-backed measure to fund Trump’s border wall and offer limited legal protections for some immigrants failed in a 50-47 vote. Three senators — Democrat Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Republicans Tom Cotton of Arkansas and Mike Lee of Utah — broke with their parties.

A plan supported by Democrats fared better, but still fell short in a 52-44 vote. Six Republican senators supported it: Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, Susan Collins of Maine, Cory Gardner of Colorado, Johnny Isakson of Georgia, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Mitt Romney of Utah.

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