Senate Democrats Reject Funding for Essential Government Workers, Including Air Traffic Controllers and Military | 23 Oct 2025 | The “Schumer Shutdown” began on October 1, and the Senate has voted 12 times — and failed 12 times — to reopen the government because Schumer wants to give illegal aliens healthcare. On Thursday, Senate Democrats rejected funding for essential government workers, including air traffic controllers, TSA, and military. 60 votes were needed to invoke cloture to advance the bill. Fox News reported: Democrats blocked a Republican-led attempt to provide essential government workers with paychecks amid an ongoing, 23-day shutdown, calling the bill overly selective and incomplete. That bill, proposed by Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., and Todd Young, R-Ind., failed in a 54-45 vote, where 60 votes were needed to advance the bill over the threat of a filibuster. Only three Democrats, John Fetterman, D-Pa., Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., and Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., voted with Republicans.