GOP attempts to squeeze Democrats with vote to pay ‘essential workers,’ including troops and TSA agents

Senate Majority Leader John Thune speaks to the media outside the West Wing of the White House following a Rose Garden lunch with US President Trump and Senate Republicans in Washington, DC on Tuesday. Also pictured alongside Thune, from left tor right, Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso, Senator Tom Cotton, Senator Shelley Moore Capito, and Senator James Lankford. Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP/Getty Images

Senate GOP leaders are again shaking up their strategy as they look for more ways to pressure Democrats to end a three-week stalemate over government funding — this time, with a vote that would keep paychecks flowing to “essential” workers.

Democrats, however, are expected to widely reject the measure, leaving Congress no closer to resolving what is now the second longest government