Senate rejects competing bills to fund government, increasing risk of shutdown on Oct. 1

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., rushes from the chamber to his office as he struggles with Republicans opposed to President Donald Trump's signature bill of big tax breaks and spending cuts, at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, July 1, 2025. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

The Senate rejected competing measures on Friday to fund federal agencies for a few weeks when the new budget year begins on Oct. 1, increasing prospects for a partial government shutdown on that date.

Leaders of the two parties sought to blame the other side for the standoff. Democrats accused Republicans of not negotiating with them to address some of their priorities on health care as part of the funding measure, even though they knew some Democratic votes would be needed to get a bill to the president’s desk.

Republicans said Democrats were making demands that would dramatically increase spending and were not germane to the core issue of keeping agencies fully running for a short period of time while negotiations continued on a full-year spending measure.