Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) took to the Senate floor Tuesday evening in protest of President Trump’s policies and has been speaking for more than 17 hours — with a handful of other Democrats

The Senate failed for a 13th time to advance a GOP funding bill that would end the government shutdown, now on Day 28. Follow live updates here.

A Republican-backed bill to fund the government through Nov. 21 failed for the ninth time in the Senate on Wednesday. The vote was 51-to-44, with a supermajority of 60 votes needed for passage. The shutdown started on Oct. 1.

The Senate votes today, Thursday, Oct. 16, 2025, on a House-passed stopgap measure as the government shutdown 2025 enters Day 16 with Republicans and Democrats continuing a bitter battle as furloughed federal workers and agencies await a government reopening.

The government shutdown stretched into Day 24 on Friday as the Senate failed to advance a measure to pay some federal workers.

The Senate votes today, Tuesday, Oct. 14, 2025, on a partisan, short-term spending measure as the government shutdown 2025 enters into Day 14 as furloughed federal workers and agencies await a government reopening. It has now become the fifth-longest ...

Shades of optimism filled the Senate this past week as bipartisan talks on a way out of the government shutdown increased.