A Pentagon funding bill is hanging in the balance with Senate Democrats reluctant to help Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) break the shutdown gridlock, unless they get assurances on a broader spending deal.

The Thursday vote on the War Department funding bill, teed up by Thune, is presenting Democrats with their latest unity test. They have largely stuck together to oppose a short-term spending patch that passed the House in September, instead demanding that healthcare concessions be part of any funding bill.

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