Sen. Jeff Merkley has been speaking for more than 15 hours, as of Wednesday morning, warning abut the "grave threat" posed by Donald Trump to American democracy. "I’ve come to the Senate floor tonight to ring the alarm bells.

The Senate failed to advance the House-passed funding bill that would end the government shutdown for the 12th time on Wednesday, following a marathon speech by Democratic Sen. Jeff Merkley of Oregon.

The federal government remains closed Tuesday, Oct. 21, amid a bitter battle among Republicans and Democrats. Here's when the Senate returns today.