The Senate on Tuesday, as expected, failed to approve a GOP stopgap to keep the government funded or a Democratic alternative, edging the government closer to a midnight shutdown.

The votes came at the end of a day notable for the lack of public work being done by either party to prevent a shutdown.

Normally, the hours and days before the prospect of a shutdown on Capitol Hill are filled with scenes of lawmakers and aides scurrying about to negotiate possible settlements.

But after a meeting at the White House on Monday between President Trump and congressional leaders from both parties failed to make any headway, Tuesday was all about messaging and questions over how long the latest shutdown might last.

Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.) said the shutdown could go “beyond a week or so.”

“We’r

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