Senate Dems Block Bill To Pay Essential Workers Trapped In ‘Endless Shutdown’

Democrats moved to block a Republican-led attempt that would have provided essential government workers with paychecks amid an ongoing, 23-day government shutdown that could soon become the longest in American history.The bill, proposed by Senators Ron Johnson (R-WI) and Todd Young (R-IN), failed in the upper chamber by a vote of 54-45, falling well short of the necessary 60-vote threshold required to advance the bill over threat of a filibuster. Just three Democrats, Senator John Fetterman of Pennsylvania and Senators Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff of Georgia, voted with Republicans.

In addition to compensating federal employees and military personnel during the current shutdown, the bill would also extend relief efforts to future periods where funding agreements are not in place, Fox News reported.

“For fiscal year 2026, and any fiscal year thereafter, there are appropriated such sums as are necessary to provide standard rates of pay, allowances, pay differentials, benefits, and other payments on a regular basis to excepted employees,” the bill reads.

Johnson had pitched the legislation as a longterm solution to compensating essential workers during budget disputes. “I just hope, on a nonpartisan basis, we do something that makes sense around here for once,” Johnson said while the bill was being debated.

“With Democrats continuing the Schumer Shutdown, they should at least agree to pay all the federal employees that are forced to continue working. The 2025 Shutdown Fairness Act is a permanent fix that will ensure excepted workers and our troops are paid during a shutdown,” the senator said.

After the bill’s failure, a number of Senate Republicans had harsh words for their colleagues on the other side, who have voted against a “clean” funding resolution to keep the government funded more than a dozen times.

“It means Democrats don’t care,” said Senator John Cornyn (R-TX). “We know this is going to end sometime. The question is when. I guess it will depend on how much carnage the Democrats want to create. To me, they are in a box canyon, and they can’t figure out how to get out.”

The shutdown has led to thousands of government employees being either laid off or furloughed. Both furloughed government employees and those deemed “essential,” including active-duty troops, typically do not receive paychecks while shutdowns are in effect.

Republicans have repeatedly advanced a short-term funding mechanism that will extend the current fiscal year through late November, known as a continuing resolution, though all but three Democrats have continued to hold out in hoping of gaining additional spending and legislative wishlist items.