White House Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney speaks during a briefing on a possible government shutdown at the White House in Washington D.C. Jan. 19, 2018. The U.S. government was shutting down as the Senate failed to pass a stopgap spending bill on Friday. (Xinhua/Yin Bogu)
WASHINGTON, Jan. 19 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. Senate on Friday night failed to secure enough votes to advance a short-term spending bill, pushing the country to the edge of government shutdown.
In a procedural roll-call, Senate lawmakers fell short of the 60 votes to end the debate on the bill in order to rush it through before the current spending measure expires on Friday midnight.
The bill, already passed by the House of Representatives on Thursday on largely party lines, will fund the government running through Feb. 16.
Lawmakers reportedly have no clear fallback plan, which means that the shutdown is a near certainty.
"Not looking good for our great Military or Safety & Security on the very dangerous Southern Border," said President Donald Trump in a twitter post on Friday night.
"Dems want a Shutdown in order to help diminish the great success of the Tax Cuts, and what they are doing for our booming economy," he said.
Lawmakers are expected to continue negotiations over the weekend.
White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Director Mick Mulvaney told CNN on Friday that lawmakers might reach a deal before the government offices are supposed to open on Monday.
The U.S. government shuts down when the legislative branch and executive branch fail to pass legislation to appropriate funding for government agencies.
The last government shutdown occurred in 2013 when Republican lawmakers unsuccessfully tried to defund the Affordable Care Act.
