WATCH: Thune holds news briefing as Congress remains deadlocked over shutdown

Senate Majority Leader John Thune is showing no sign of backing away from his current tactic of pressing Democrats to vote for a stopgap government funding bill.

Watch the news conference in the video player above.

Thune, a South Dakota Republican, has tried to peel away Democratic senators to vote to advance the bill. So far, it hasn’t worked.

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Despite repeated votes on the bill since the government shutdown, the voting pattern has not changed, leaving Republicans five votes short of advancing the legislation.

Yet Thune at a news conference laid down a challenge to any Democrat who may be thinking about crossing party lines: “All it takes is a little backbone, a little courage on behalf of five Democrats.”