Senate Democrats on Thursday blocked [1] consideration of a defense appropriations bill that would have funded the Department of War for the remainder of the fiscal year and ensured that U.S. service members continued to receive pay during the ongoing government shutdown.
The vote failed 50–44, with only three Democrats—Sens. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada, and Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire—joining Republicans in support of the measure. The legislation required 60 votes to advance.
The bill would have guaranteed uninterrupted pay for active-duty military personnel and provided a scheduled pay raise for troops.
Despite broad bipartisan support when the measure passed out of the Senate Appropriations Committee in July, it became the latest casualty of a partisan stalemate that has now extended the federal government shutdown to its 16th day.
The Biden-Harris administration has relied on temporary funding measures authorized by President Donald Trump to ensure troops continue receiving paychecks.
However, Pentagon officials warned that those funds are limited and will not guarantee pay for service members if the shutdown extends into November.
Senate Minority Leader John Thune (R-SD) sharply criticized Democrats for blocking the measure, noting that they had previously supported a defense authorization bill to raise troop pay but were now preventing the funds from being distributed.
“After voting last week for an authorization bill to increase troop pay, Democrats just voted against the bill that would actually pay the troops,” Thune said on the Senate floor.
“They’re happy to sacrifice any American and evidently any principle to their political goals. Democrats like to position themselves as the party of the little guy and the defender of hard-working Americans, but as this vote makes clear, who do Democrats really care about?”
.@LeaderJohnThune [2] on Democrats: “We offered to accommodate their healthcare demands by guaranteeing them vote on their proposal if they vote to reopen the government. The answer is no.” pic.twitter.com/J4HzWPYevA [3]
— CSPAN (@cspan) October 16, 2025 [4]
Republican senators echoed Thune’s criticism, arguing that Democrats were putting politics ahead of national security and the welfare of military families.
Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-MO) said the vote demonstrated that Democrats were “not serious about working on appropriations bills” and called their continued opposition “a losing argument with the American people.”
Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut acknowledged earlier in the day that Congress has a responsibility to pay service members but still voted against the bill.
“We have an obligation, and now an opportunity, to pay our military in a lawful way instead of just moving funds from one account to another, as President Trump is doing,” Blumenthal said before the vote.
Earlier Thursday morning, Democrats also filibustered a bipartisan stopgap funding bill that would have reopened the federal government.
That marked the tenth time Democrats have blocked efforts to end the shutdown.
Sen. Fetterman, Sen. Cortez Masto, and Maine Sen. Angus King, an independent who caucuses with Democrats, broke ranks to vote with Republicans in favor of reopening the government.
Republican leaders have accused Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) of intentionally prolonging the shutdown to gain leverage on unrelated policy issues.
Schumer has insisted that Democrats will not agree to a temporary funding measure unless Republicans accept additional healthcare provisions tied to the spending package.
The defense appropriations measure would have provided funding for the military through September 2026, including pay for more than 1.3 million active-duty troops and essential defense programs.
The Senate is not scheduled to reconvene until Monday, meaning the government shutdown—already one of the longest in recent history—is expected to continue into next week.
Thune said he intends to keep bringing funding measures to the floor until Democrats agree to reopen the government.
“At some point, reasonable Democrats are going to have to come to the conclusion that this doesn’t benefit anybody,” Thune told MSNBC’s Ali Vitali in an interview that aired Thursday.
“I don’t believe government shutdowns benefit anybody, and that used to be a position that was held by the Democrat leadership.”
As of Thursday evening, there was no agreement between party leaders on how to move forward.
The defense spending measure is expected to be reintroduced when the Senate returns to session next week.