Trump plan to fund border wall, reopen government falls short in Senate

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate on Thursday cast sufficient votes to block a bill backed by President Donald Trump that would have ended a record-long partial federal government shutdown by funding the wall he wants to build on the U.S.-Mexico border. Even as voting continued, enough senators had voted against the measure to deprive it of the 60 votes needed for it to advance in the 100-member chamber. Upon completion of the tally, the Senate was set to vote on a competing measure from Democrats that would reopen government agencies until Feb. 8, giving Trump and Congress more time to negotiate over border security funding. The Senate is also expected to block that bill. (Reporting by Richard Cowan; Editing by Tim Ahmann)