A Senate plan to take up a major fiscal 2026 appropriations package on the floor next week is looking increasingly like a long shot.

After finally bringing a 43-day partial government shutdown to an end, Senate leaders were eager to get going on long-delayed appropriations work for the fiscal year that began Oct. 1.

Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., had said he intends to take up the Defense spending bill next week and, with unanimous consent, attach as many as four additional bills to the measure to pass a massive package making up most of the year’s discretionary spending. Those bills could include Labor-HHS-Education, Commerce-Justice-Science, Interior-Environment and Transportation-HUD.

But that plan, while still possible, is now facing some strong headwinds, sources familiar with

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