-CNN
Both proposals are expected to fail at this point because either would need 60 votes to advance.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer explained in remarks on the Senate floor on Tuesday that lawmakers had reached an agreement to hold the votes.
But despite the announcement, there is still no end in sight to the shutdown stalemate on Capitol Hill as Republicans push for the border funding the President has asked for and Democrats continue to reject that proposal as a non-starter. In an indication that the House-passed measure will not receive enough bipartisan support to advance, McConnell spokesman Don Stewart told CNN on Tuesday that the Senate majority leader is not supporting the House bill that the Senate will vote on Thursday to reopen the government until early February. Seven Democrats would have to crossover for the GOP bill to pass -- Republicans hold 53 Senate seats -- and there has been little indication that's possible. And 13 Republicans would have to crossover for the Democratic bill to pass, which is also unlikely unless Trump were to reverse course and support the bill. The decision to allow votes on measures that are not certain to receive the bipartisan support needed to pass Congress and be signed into law by the President marks a shift for McConnell.
