Democrats' last-minute move to block GOP funding plan sends lawmakers home early
Senate Republicans tried to advance a funding package as their last act of the year, but a last-minute block by Senate Democrats sent lawmakers home frustrated as the deadline to...
By Fox News · Fox News
Senate Republicans tried to advance a funding package as their last act of the year, but a last-minute block by Senate Democrats sent lawmakers home frustrated as the deadline to fund the government creeps closer. Lawmakers have spent the last month since the government shutdown building consensus on a five-bill spending package that would go a long way toward preventing another one come Jan. 30. The package would have funded the departments of Defense, Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, Commerce, Justice, Interior, Transportation, and Housing and Urban Development, which represent a massive chunk of Congress’ overall funding responsibilities. TRUMP GETS 417 NOMINEES CONFIRMED BY SENATE IN 2025, SURPASSES BIDEN'S FIRST-YEAR TOTAL IN RECORD PACE But a deal never materialized, and the lights of the Senate chamber went out for the last time of the year as lawmakers beelined from Washington, D.C., back to their home districts. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., remained hopeful that when the Senate returned, Democrats would cross the aisle to finish the job. "The Democrats are indicating that they want to do them, they just didn't want to do them today," Thune said. "So hopefully, when we get back, we'll test that proposition, and hope that we'll take them to face value, and hopefully we'll get moving, and get moving quickly, because we've got a lot to do." Before the last gavel rang through the chamber, however, there was still hope that a deal could be reached. As the clock ticked deeper into the night and the smell of jet fumes grew stronger in the Senate, top Republicans kept working the phones and trying to negotiate a path forward on the package. SENATE SENDS $901B DEFENSE BILL TO TRUMP AFTER CLASHES OVER BOAT STRIKE, DC AIRSPACE Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Susan Collins, R-Maine, told Fox News Digital that Republicans had cleared the decks on their end after several weeks of holds on the package from fiscal hawks demanding amendment v…