Senate Democrats blocked a Department of Homeland Security funding for a second time Tuesday, underscoring a shutdown stalemate now in its second week.

Senators voted 50-45 to advance a House-passed DHS bill in their first action on funding for the department since a partial government shutdown started Feb. 14. The bill needed 60 votes to move forward.

President Donald Trump will use part of his State of the Union speech Tuesday evening to encourage Democrats to reopen the Department of Homeland Security, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Tuesday. But with lawmakers just returning to Washington from a weeklong recess, the talks appear to have almost entirely stalled.

“We’ve heard crickets from them, nothing,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer told reporters Tuesday. “They’re not negotiating. They’re just trying to pass paper back and forth with no real changes.”

There’s currently no meeting scheduled between congressional leaders and Trump to talk about the funding fight, which disproportionately impacts nonimmigration agencies such as TSA and the Coast Guard. With talks going slowly, there’s no expectation that a deal to end the partial shutdown is reached this week, according to three people granted anonymity to discuss the private negotiations.

Democrats have vowed to oppose DHS funding until they get changes to Trump’s immigration enforcement tactics after federal agents killed two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis. Democrats have outlined more than a dozen changes that they want, including banning masks for federal agents, requiring them to obtain judicial warrants to search private property and requiring independent investigations of agent misconduct.

Despite the partial shutdown, Trump’s immigration agencies have funding under the party-line megabill Republicans passed last year. But Democrats believe they have public opinion on their side due to the political backlash over Trump’s immigration tactics, which have also sparked unease among some Republican lawmakers.

Democrats gave their latest counteroffer to the White House last week. Asked about a possible White House response, Senate Majority Leader John Thune said in an interview Tuesday that the talks are now more “informal,” with the parties “just kind of going back and forth and trying to hit the landing spot.”

As President Donald Trump prepared to deliver his State of the Union Address Tuesday night, top Democratic lawmakers emerged from a classified briefing on Iran and urged him to explain how he will resolve the standoff over Tehran’s nuclear program.

The briefing, which Secretary of State Marco Rubio delivered to House and Senate leadership, as well as the top members of the House and Senate Intelligence Committees, comes as the administration weighs potential military action against Iran.

Though Trump hasn’t indicated he has made a final decision, he has ordered a huge expansion of U.S. military forces in the Middle East and warned of “really bad things” if a deal isn’t reached with Tehran on its nuclear enrichment program.

“Look, this is serious, and the administration has to make its case to the American people,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said after the briefing. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries afterward questioned the need for military action, pointing to Trump’s past claims that he had destroyed Tehran’s nuclear program during Operation Midnight Hammer this past summer.

“Part of the concern that I’ve articulated, and will continue to do so, is that the president made the representation that Iran’s nuclear program was completely and totally obliterated last year as a result of actions that the administration has taken,” Jeffries said.

“And so if that, in fact, was true, what is the urgency as of this moment? That’s an open question, and the American people need a real explanation,” he added.

Senate Intelligence Vice Chair Mark Warner (D-Va.) called it was “a serious moment” for the Middle East and America. He noted that some of the sailors in the administration’s military buildup are from his state.

“I think it is incumbent upon the president to make the case of what our country’s goals are, what our country’s interests are, and how we’re going to protect American interests in the region,” he said. “Maybe we’ll hear that tonight, but if we don’t hear it tonight, we need to hear it very, very soon.”

On the other side of the aisle, Senate Majority Leader John Thune said “consultation” with Congress “needs to happen” on Iran.

But he said it was unclear what decisions the administration has made on military action.

“There are multiple issues with regard to Iran, one of which is the nuclear program; The other is the ballistic missile program,” Thune said. “It is a dangerous country, and very volatile, as you know, right now.”

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise held a dinner Monday night with Republican committee chairs and senior White House officials to discuss the GOP legislative agenda ahead of the midterms, according to five people granted anonymity to share details of the private event.

White House deputy chief of staff for legislative affairs James Blair was in attendance at the dinner, held at a Capitol Hill restaurant, alongside the administration’s legislative affairs director James Braid and top House liaison, Jeff Freeland, according to the people.

Blair and White House officials discussed key affordability policy areas they feel are especially salient in a midterm election year, including housing. They also raised health care and economic issues — topics Trump plans to hit on in his State of the Union address Tuesday night.

But notably, the people with knowledge of the meeting said the group did not discuss pursuing these priorities through another party-line budget reconciliation package.

Scalise said in an interview Tuesday afternoon he organized the dinner to coordinate with the White House and invited the chairs to share details of the legislation they plan to work on for the rest of the year.

White House officials also gave a rough overview of what to expect from Trump’s State of the Union speech, Scalise continued.

Blair and other White House representatives said the president will laud American greatness ahead of the country’s upcoming 250th birthday, according to Scalise. Trump will also talk about “the mess he inherited from Biden,” including high inflation and rampant illegal border crossings.

Trump will give examples of how he’s working with his Republican majority in Congress to fix a lot of those problems, but “also make clear that the work’s not done,” Scalise said.

He added that Trump’s speech also will preview “what we need to do in the next few months” ahead of the midterms.