PoliticsAlex Wong/Getty Images Sen. Joe Donnelly
- 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.
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.
Two red-state Democrats, Sens. Joe Donnelly of Indiana and Joe Manchin of West Virginia, announced they would vote for the GOP's short-term bill.
"It's the most basic duty of Congress to keep our government running," Donnelly said in a speech on the Senate floor Friday. "I was elected by the people of Indiana to work every day on behalf of Hoosiers to do my job as United States Senator. Keeping the government running is our job, and I will vote to keep the government running."
Several Democratic senators in red states up for reelection in 2018, like Donnelly and Manchin, could be targets for Republicans.
Sens. Claire McCaskill of Missouri, Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota, and Bill Nelson of Florida are up for reelection this year in states Trump won and have been mum on their votes.
Even if those members flip, Republicans still have a math problem. The party needs 60 votes total for the legislation to clear a key procedural hurdle, and getting 10 Democrats on board is a tall task. Even more problematic for the GOP: Three Republican senators have signaled they will vote against the CR, making the path to 60 votes even more daunting.