US Senate Democrats reject Republican stopgap funding bill, raising risk of government shutdown

U.S. Senate Democrats blocked a stopgap Republican-sponsored bill that would have kept the government funded until late November. This forced two weeks of last-minute negotiations to avert a government shutdown. In the Republican-controlled Senate, the vote was 44-48, falling short of the 60 votes needed for passage. Rand Paul of Kentucky and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska were the only Republicans to vote against the bill, while Democratic Senator John Fetterman voted in favor. Several Republicans were absent. The Republican-led House of Representatives had narrowly passed the bill earlier in the day, leaving party leaders to reconsider their approach.