Talks on the broader full-year appropriations measures have hit a rough patch after the administration rejected bipartisan entreaties to add about $5 billion to grease their path.
He added that Democratic presidential candidates — six Senate Democrats are running — might prefer to spend their time campaigning in Iowa and New Hampshire instead.
Acrimonious to the end, the battle featured a climactic roll call that was interrupted several times by protesters in the Senate Gallery before Capitol Police removed them.