Government Headed for Shutdown

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A procedural vote on a continuing resolution to fund the federal government through mid-February, while technically still open, has failed. Republican senators Jeff Flake (Arizona), Mike Lee (Utah), Rand Paul (Kentucky), and Lindsey Graham (South Carolina) voted against the legislation; Democratic senators Claire McCaskill (Missouri), Doug Jones (Alabama), Heidi Heitkamp (North Dakota), Joe Manchin (West Virginia), and Joe Donnelly (Indiana) voted in favor of the measure, which required 60 votes to pass.*

Senators from both parties are currently on the floor of the Senate, reportedly trying to reach a new deal. Barring any such deal in the next hour, however, the federal government will now officially shut down and cease non-essential functions at 12:01 a.m.

*Update—January 19th, 2018: This post has been updated to correctly identify the state Doug Jones represents in the U.S. senate.

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