For the fourth time in as many weeks, the U.S. Senate failed Monday to advance legislation to fund the Department of Homeland Security, which will be forced to shut down and suspend pay for more than 100,000 employees if a deal isn't reached by Friday.
Democrats again managed to block the Republican-led bill that would defund President Barack Obama's executive immigration actions while funding the rest of Homeland Security.
The measure needed 60 votes to pass but received 47 votes in favor and 46 against, reported CNN.
Unless the measure that would defund Obama's immigration action is removed, Democrats are unlikely to throw their support behind the bill. They insist that the immigration issue is unrelated to funding Homeland Security, but Republicans believe this is their chance to reverse what they call illegal and unconstitutional presidential executive action.
If Congress doesn't act by midnight on Friday, 30,000 Homeland Security employees will be furloughed. Some 200,000 will be asked to continue to work without pay until the funding dispute is settled, according to NBC News.
Speaking to a meeting of state governors at the White House on Monday, Obama warned of the consequences of a partial shutdown.
"It will have a direct impact on your economy, and it will have a direct impact on America's national security because their hard work helps to keep us safe," Obama said, reported Reuters.
After Monday's vote, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., introduced separate legislation that would reverse Obama's immigration actions while still leaving DHS funding in place, calling it "a way to get the Senate unstuck," but it's not clear how the tactic will fare.
Despite the stalemate, the Senate is expected find a compromise this week and send it to the House, where lawmakers "will have to make some tough choices," House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Michael McCaul, R-Texas, told CNN.
