Dueling measures from Republicans or Democrats are unlikely to pass.WASHINGTON – Hours before the federal government was set to partially shut down, senators were scheduled to vote again on dueling funding measures to keep the lights on.Neither is expected to succeed, though there could be some defections from moderate Democrats and budget-hawk Republicans that underscore the political complexities for both parties as the Trump administration prepares for the 22nd government shutdown over the last half century.Both Senate bills to fund the government previously failed on Sept. 19, largely along party lines. Since then, congressional leaders have dug their heels in, with Democrats demanding changes to health care in exchange for their votes to bypass the Senate's 60-vote threshold and keep the government open into the start of the new fiscal year on Oct. 1.Republicans, meanwhile, are pushing to pass a bill to maintain current funding levels until Nov. 21. Sen. John Fetterman, a Democrat of Pennsylvania, originally voted for that measure, while Lisa Murkowski, a Republican from Alaska, opposed it.Ahead of the votes, President Donald Trump seemed to throw his support behind the prospect of a shutdown, saying "a lot of good can come from shutdowns.""We can get rid of a lot of things that we didn't want," he said. The White House has threatened not only furloughs but also mass layoffs across the federal workforce in the event of a shutdown.Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, who leads Democrats in the upper chamber, sided with Republicans in March to keep the government open, in large part due to fears of further cuts to the civil service from Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency.This time around, though, Schumer and other Democrats say they are less fazed by the White House's warnings of widespread firings. They have a raucous base that wants to fight back against Trump and Republicans, even if it means sending federal workers home with uncertainty about what happens next."The bottom line is he's doing it anyway," Schumer said of Trump. "They've already cut 300,000 people."Zachary Schermele is a congressional reporter for USA TODAY. You can reach him by email at zschermele@usatoday.com. Follow him on X at @ZachSchermele and Bluesky at @zachschermele.bsky.social.