Washington — The Senate is expected to vote Thursday on advancing an individual year-long appropriations bill to fund the Pentagon as GOP leaders pursue an alternative approach to restart some funding as the government shutdown has stretched into a third week.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune teed up consideration of the full-year Defense Department appropriations bill earlier this week, and the upper chamber is expected to take a procedural vote on advancing the measure Thursday afternoon.

The Senate has been locked in a stalemate in recent weeks, seeing no movement despite holding repeat votes on a short-term funding measure to reopen the government as Democrats demand an extension of expiring health insurance tax credits. And although the Senate is also set to vote for a tenth t

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