The government shutdown is turning into “Groundhog Day” for senators as they grow increasingly frustrated with the lack of movement toward a deal and repeated failed votes.

The Senate on Monday voted on the GOP’s “clean” stopgap funding bill and on a Democratic alternative, with both again failing to advance. Absent a substantial change in posture on either side, the upper chamber is expected to vote on the same continuing resolutions (CR) on Tuesday and Thursday.

Adding to the monotony and deepening the stalemate, the repeated votes are taking place even as no high-level negotiations are taking place and talks among rank-and-file lawmakers appear to have petered out.

“It’s unfortunate. I wish we were making more progress,” said Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), who was part of informal talks with Democrats in recent days that have made little headway. “It takes our Democrat colleagues to actually want to get in the middle of it too.”

The upper chamber returned for the vote on Monday after taking the weekend off, but little changed in the interim. No other members of the Democratic caucus joined Sens. Catherine Cortez (D-Nev.), Angus King (I-Maine) and John Fetterman (D-Pa.) — who have supported the measure on each vote since the shutdown started — in voting to advance the GOP’s House-passed funding bill. Instead, both sides remained hunkered down and neither indicated a willingness to budge.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) has been adamant that he has little reason to meet with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), insisting he has nothing to negotiate in a “clean” bill and repeatedly noting that........

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