Senate Republicans pushed a five-bill funding package late in the year to keep the government running, but Democrats put a last-minute block in the way and lawmakers left Washington without a deal, setting up a tense return with the funding deadline looming. The package covered major departments and was meant to avoid a shutdown, yet disagreement over a Colorado research center and other holds left the effort unfinished. Republicans say they cleared their side and tried to bargain, while Democrats dug in, leaving the upper chamber facing a difficult January.
The plan Republicans were advancing bundled funding for Defense, Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, Commerce, Justice, Interior, Transportation, and Housing and Urban Development. That group represents a massive slice of federal responsibility and was intended to be a pragmatic, stopgap step toward stable funding. Leaders argued it would reduce the risk of a repeat shutdown and keep key services running.
As the votes neared, Senate Majority Leader John Thune tried to keep optimism alive on the floor while members headed home for the holidays. “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.”
Republicans worked the phones deep into the night to thread the needle and buy time for more negotiation, but the Senate adjourned without the deal. Appropriations Chair Susan Collins said Republicans had cleared their side after weeks of negotiating through holds from fiscal hawks demanding amendment votes on earmarks. When asked if Democrats would cooperate, she said, “I don’t know.”
The final blockage fell to two Democrats from Colorado who tied their hold to a dispute over the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder. Senators John Hickenlooper and Michael Bennet said they were prepared to hold out unless guaranteed an amendment vote or a specific outcome on the research center’s future. Hickenlooper put it plainly: “We need to find some Republican supporters. All we’re trying to do is just protect the budget that was already there,” Hickenlooper said. “So, whatever disagreement there is between the state, the governor of Colorado, and the President of the United States, that shouldn’t affect a scientific institution. Science should be free of that kind of politics.”
The dispute touched off direct criticism of the administration’s review of the facility, which the Office of Management and Budget described bluntly. OMB Director Russ Vought called the facility in a “one of the largest sources of climate alarmism in the country,” and vowed a comprehensive review was underway and that any “vital activities such as weather research will be moved to another entity or location.”
Senate Democrats were louder in condemning the administration’s posture toward Colorado, with Minority Leader Chuck Schumer sharply critical. “What the president did to Colorado is disgusting, and Republicans ought to get him to change,” Schumer said. That rhetoric underscored how political disputes over federal research can stall basic funding work.
Republicans tried a tactical move, opening the floor late after a White House signing ceremony for the big defense package to finish confirmations and keep the chamber active. The goal was to keep momentum and give negotiators more room to reach a deal without an immediate shutdown threat. They even added a handful of extra votes, but Democrats refused to relent and the package stalled.
Senator Katie Britt, who chairs the Senate Homeland Security Appropriations subcommittee, stressed the Senate’s obligation to finish the work. She described the effort as a commitment to persist: the goal was “to stay until we get it finished.” “If we want the Senate to matter, we should figure it out,” Britt said. Republican leaders framed their persistence as protecting fiscal order and keeping promises to constituents.
Failing to advance the package before the break doesn’t guarantee a shutdown, but it makes January more treacherous for both parties. Lawmakers still need to resolve expiring Obamacare subsidies that lapse on Dec. 31, and the next funding deadline at the end of January will force quick choices. Anything that clears the Senate still has to pass the House and reach the President, adding more steps and potential roadblocks.
Despite the impasse, most Republicans signaled they do not want a shutdown and will push to avoid one when the Senate returns. Thune reiterated the common-sense message that a shutdown would be harmful to both parties: “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.”
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