Live updates: Thune challenges Democrats on defense bill

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) raised the stakes on Capitol Hill as he scheduled a Thursday vote to advance the mammoth defense appropriations bill on Day 15 of the government shutdown. 

Thune is seeking to put Democrats on the record if they vote to block the $852 billion spending bill as Republicans spotlight how the shutdown is impacting national security. 

The upper chamber on Wednesday is slated to vote again on the House-passed continuing resolution that could reopen the government; it failed Tuesday for the eighth time.

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court heard a major challenge to the Voting Rights Act this morning, as Louisiana fights to toss its new congressional map that added a second Black-majority district.

At the White House, President Trump and FBI Director Kash Patel will hold a press conference on crime at 3 p.m. EDT. The president will host a "ballroom dinner" later in the evening.

Read below for the latest updates.