The U.S. Senate failed for the tenth time on Thursday to advance a stopgap funding bill aimed at ending the government shutdown, as partisan divisions deepened and nearly 2 million federal workers remained furloughed or unpaid.

The latest procedural vote on a House-passed measure to extend funding through November 21 fell short, with a 51–45 tally missing the 60-vote threshold required to proceed. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) led the effort, but Democrats held firm, demanding the inclusion of Affordable Care Act subsidy extensions set to expire at year’s end. Four senators were absent from the vote, reflecting growing fatigue in a chamber locked in stalemate.

Undeterred, Thune pivoted to a new strategy: a procedural vote on a full-year Pentagon appropriations bill, scheduled later Thursday. He suggested bundling other agency funding if negotiations thaw. “If you want to stop the Defense bill, I don’t think it’s very good optics for them,” Thune told MSNBC, urging Democrats to allow debate and vowing to preserve regular order.

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) remained noncommittal on a standalone vote for the funding credits, rejecting Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer’s (D-N.Y.) call for guarantees. “It’s not possible to guarantee an outcome,” Johnson said, placing blame on Democrats for the impasse.

Schumer, meanwhile, rallied support for weekend “No Kings” protests, framing Republican tactics as authoritarian and obstructionist. “They say there’s nothing to negotiate… Has to, for the sake of the American people,” he said. The demonstrations, planned in thousands of locations nationwide, follow a third wave of anti-Trump mobilizations, with organizers condemning the shutdown as a political power play.

Now in its 18th day, the shutdown has disrupted key services: federal courts will scale back operations starting Monday, the Supreme Court will close to visitors, and FEMA staff staged protests Friday over looming budget cuts. FBI Director Kash Patel confirmed agents will continue receiving pay under a directive from President Donald Trump—a carve-out that drew criticism from Democrats over perceived inequity.

A federal judge has blocked Trump’s attempt to dismiss federal workers en masse, and legal scrutiny continues over National Guard deployments in Chicago.

Trump, fresh from a summit with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, urged both Ukraine and Russia to “stop where they are,” while confirming plans for a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Budapest. Despite mounting domestic pressure, Trump has shown little urgency in resolving the shutdown, focusing instead on foreign policy engagements.