US Senate blocks $852B defense spending bill

By Diyar Guldogan

WASHINGTON (AA) - The US Senate on Thursday blocked an $852 billion defense budget for fiscal 2026 as a government shutdown has stretched into a third week.

By a vote of 50-44, the upper chamber did invoke cloture on the motion to proceed to H.R. 4016, Department of Defense Appropriations Act.

Democrats Catherine Cortez Masto, John Fetterman and Jeanne Shaheen voted in favor.

Sens. Ted Budd, Bill Cassidy, John Cornyn, Tammy Duckworth, Thom Tillis and Tommy Tuberville did not vote. Senate Majority Leader John Thune changed his vote to no and entered a motion to reconsider.

The vote came after the upper chamber failed to advance a Republican bill for a 10th time.

“It’s always been unacceptable to Democrats to do the defense bill without other bills that have so many things that are important to the American people in terms of health care, in terms of housing, in terms of safety,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer told reporters before the vote.

On July 31, the Senate Appropriations Committee voted 26-3 to pass on advancing an individual year-long appropriations bill to fund the Pentagon.