T his article is part of The D.C. Brief, TIME’s politics newsletter. Sign up here to get stories like this sent to your inbox. For weeks, Senate Democrats have tried to have it both ways as they’ve faced a tricky choice: cast a vote that allows for a government shutdown in hopes of saving some federal jobs or give into Republicans’ spending regime in the name of keeping at least some feds on the payroll. To the dismay of the progressive wing of the party, it seems retreat remains a very real