The Senate has scheduled for 10 p.m. ET a procedural vote to advance the House bill that would fund the government for a month, though the path to avoiding a government shutdown does not look any clearer in the hours leading up to the votes.
The government will shut down at midnight if a spending bill does not pass.
A few Democrats have defected from Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s (D-NY) threats to block the bill, but not enough to guarantee the 60 votes the House bill will need move forward. A handful of Republicans have also said they will not vote for the month-long spending bill. Democrats object to how Republicans have shirked continuing an immigration program for young people brought to country illegally as children.
Senate Democrats plan to meet at 8:30 p.m. ET. The Democratic senators confirmed as supporting the GOP bill are Joe Manchin (WV), Joe Donnelly (IN), Heidi Heitkamp (ND), and Doug Jones (AL).
Neither Democrats nor Republicans — including members of the leadership teams — were able to give reporters many details about negotiations to keep the government open. Majority Whip John Cornyn (R-TX) said earlier Friday evening he wasn’t sure if Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Schumer were talking about a potential deal.
