The Senate once again couldn't clear a key procedural hurdle on a roughly $2 trillion economic aid package to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, but the vote was largely a formality anyway as furious negotiating continued behind the scenes.

"We're very close to reaching a deal, very close," Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer, D-N.Y., said on the floor. "And our goal is to reach a deal today, and we're hopeful, even confident, that we will meet that goal."

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The cloture vote was rejected, 49-46. But Schumer earlier said the upcoming 1:30 p.m. votes were now "essentially irrelevant." He added that "we're prepared to speed up that agreement on the floor" once there's a bipartisan deal.

But Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., accused Democrats of seeking to pile on political favors for their constituencies, such as new collective bargaining powers for unions, extensions of wind and solar tax credits and fuel emissions caps for airlines.