Troops and Defense Department civilians faced the possibility of frozen pay and furloughs as the government shut down on Saturday after last-minute efforts on Capitol Hill to pass protections fizzled.

Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., proposed fast-tracking a bill on the Senate floor after a midnight budget deadline Friday that would have ensured paychecks continued. But the move was opposed by Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., leaving the military and hundreds of thousands of civilian workers hanging.