Senate Majority Leader John Thune is putting a House-passed bill on Defense Department appropriations up for a procedural vote Wednesday afternoon. With 60 votes required to move forward, the bill will likely need at least seven Democrats to support it,

Senate Republicans will vote next week to pay some federal government employees, including active-duty members of the military, as the shutdown drags into its fourth week.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune is ready to bring to a vote legislation imposing sanctions on countries that trade with Russia, a move to put economic pressure on Vladimir Putin even after President Donald Trump announced plans to soon meet the Russian leader.

An independent senator who caucuses with Democrats said Senate Democrats are giving the White House too much power in the fight to reopen the federal government — particularly given President Donald Trump’s admitted lack of urgency about ending the shutdown.