Senate absences and last-minute talks over barring funding for drug paraphernalia are slowing down government funding talks, pushing lawmakers within 48 hours of the shutdown deadline.
Conservatives are digging in, urging their GOP colleagues to stay in town to vote for proposals to defund President Biden's vaccine mandates as senators struggle to get a deal to quickly pass a bill to avert a government shutdown.
Democrats are trying to regroup as they head toward November with their biggest legislative priority stalled and polls showing that voters are in a sour mood.
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) has been adamant that a judge from his home state stands the best chance of winning bipartisan support for a Supreme Court opening in a narrowly split Senate, but the White House and its allies believe each of the women being considered for the role can earn Republican votes.