Just over three weeks have gone by since Senate Democrats shut down the federal government by refusing to pass a continuing resolution.

Although GOP lawmakers attempted to restore funding on Wednesday afternoon, the move was quickly shot down. 

Oregon senator speaks for nearly 24 hours

Fox News reported that the Republican funding measure was supported by a majority of senators, with 54 voting in favor of it to 46 voting against.

However, the cable network pointed out that 60 votes are needed to overcome the filibuster rule, which was invoked by Oregon Democratic Sen. Jeff Merkley.

Merkley, who spoke for nearly 24 hours beginning at 6:23 pm on Tuesday evening, accused Republicans of having "shut down the government to continue the strategy of slashing Americans' healthcare."

Fox News noted that this week's spectacle represents the 12th time that Democrats have successfully managed to thwart a Republican attempt at resuming government business.

Trump will not meet with Democrats until government opens

It also reported that President Donald Trump expressed a willingness to meet with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (NY) and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (NY), but said he would only do so after the shutdown had ended.

"The government has to be open," Trump was quoted as saying. "You know how long it will take for them to do that? Just say, ‘OK, government is open.’ That's it. There is nothing — They’re not negotiating."

"What they're doing is saying they lost the negotiation," the president stressed. "And when we got the great ‘big beautiful [bill]’ done, they lost the negotiation."

"Now they're saying, ‘Well, we want to get some of the things we lost.’ But the problem is the things they lost are very bad for our country," Trump went on to declare.

GOP congressman accuses Democrats of "calculated hostage-taking"

Meanwhile, House Minority Whip Katherine Clark (CT) has come under fire over comments she made during an interview with Fox News host Chad Pergram last week.

"I mean, shutdowns are terrible and, of course, there will be, you know, families that are going to suffer. We take that responsibility very seriously. But it is one of the few leverage times we have," Clark told Pergram.

Fox News reported that those words brought a stern rebuke from Texas Republican Rep. August Pfluger, who said, "It's appalling to see the number two House Democrat openly admit that the left is weaponizing hardworking Americans as 'leverage' for political gain, even acknowledging families will suffer in the process."

"This isn't governance — it's calculated hostage-taking, with struggling families caught in the balance as Democrats attempt to force through their radical agenda. Families are seen only as leverage by Democrats," Pfluger maintained.