The Senate appeared primed and ready to advance a government funding package, but a last-minute block from Senate Democrats forced Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., to abandon the plan, for now. (Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images)
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
Director of the US Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Russ Vought speaks to reporters outside the West Wing of the White House in Washington, July 17, 2025. (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/Getty Images)
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., was more blunt.
"What the president did to Colorado is disgusting, and Republicans ought to get him to change," Schumer said.
Republicans opted to open the floor late following a signing ceremony at the White House for the annual, colossal defense package in order to finish the confirmation process for a tranche of President Donald Trump's nominees.
It was a bid to buy time to keep negotiations alive in the hopes of a breakthrough. They even tacked on a handful of extra votes to keep the machine whirring, but in the end, Senate Democrats wouldn’t budge.
Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala., who chairs the Senate Homeland Security Appropriations subcommittee, remained hopeful ahead of the vote and said the goal was "to stay until we get it finished."
"If we want the Senate to matter, we should figure it out," Britt said.
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Failure to advance the package on Thursday does not guarantee another government shutdown next month, but it does tee up what will likely be a brutal January in the upper chamber.
Lawmakers are still scrambling to find a deal on expiring Obamacare subsidies, which are set to expire on Dec. 31, and they will have to contend with the funding deadline at the end of the month. And anything that can pass in the Senate has to make its way through the House and ultimately be approved by Trump.
Despite the inability to move forward with the funding package, for now, it appears that neither side wants to thrust the federal government into another shutdown.
"I don't think either side wants to see that happen," Thune said. "I think that's toxic for both parties. So I'm hoping that there will be goodwill, and we'll figure out how to fund the government."
Alex Miller is a writer for Fox News Digital covering the U.S. Senate.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/democrats-last-minute-move-block-gop-funding-plan-sends-lawmakers-home-early