Government headed to a shutdown after last-ditch vote fails in Senate
Washington is hours away from another federal government shutdown, with prospects looking bleak for a last-minute compromise in Congress to avoid closures beginning at 12:01 a.m. Wednesday.
BY
MARY CLARE JALONICK,
LISA MASCARO AND
STEPHEN GROVES
Updated 8:51 AM SGT, October 1, 2025
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WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Democrats have voted down a Republican bill to keep funding the government, putting it on a near certain path to a
shutdown after midnight Wednesday for the first time in nearly seven years.
The Senate rejected the legislation as Democrats are making good on their threat to close the government if President Donald Trump and Republicans won’t accede to their health care demands. The 55-45 vote on a bill to extend federal funding for seven weeks fell short of the 60 needed to end a filibuster and pass the legislation.
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said Republicans are trying to “bully” Democrats by refusing to negotiate on an extension of
expanded Affordable Care Act tax credits that expire at the end of the year.
“We hope they sit down with us and talk,” Schumer said after the vote. “Otherwise, it’s the Republicans will be driving us straight towards a shutdown tonight at midnight. The American people will blame them for bringing the federal government to a halt.”