- The federal government will enter a partial shutdown at midnight unless Congress passes a funding bill.
- Legislation has stalled in the Senate due to opposition from Democrats and a few Republicans.
- Two Democrats from red states that are up for re-election in 2018 have switched sides and will vote for the funding bill.
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Red-state Democrats are feeling the pressure to vote for the GOP plan to avoid a shutdown
Democratic Sens. Joe Donnelly and Joe Manchin are crossing party lines to vote for the GOP-led bill to fund the government, and other Democrats may switch too.
As the clock ticks towards the midnight deadline for Congress to avoid a government shutdown, some Democrats in the Senate are starting to buck their party and side with Republicans.
Democrats representing states President Donald Trump won in 2016 are feeling the pressure to back the GOP's short-term funding bill, which would extend the shutdown deadline to February 16.
Three red-state Democrats — Sens. Joe Donnelly of Indiana, Joe Manchin of West Virginia, and Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota — announced they would vote for the GOP's short-term bill.
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Several Democratic senators in red states up for reelection in 2018, like Donnelly and Manchin, could be targets for Republicans.
Sens.
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