The Senate is grinding toward an end to the shutdown — and there are new signs for optimism this week.
A swing group of Democrats is signaling they could accept a GOP offer including a continuing resolution, a package of appropriations bills and a vote on Affordable Care Act subsidies.
At the same time, the Trump administration warned the nation’s air travel could be plunged into chaos without a deal. Meanwhile, Republicans are zeroing in on key details, including how long a CR might keep the government open and what their legislative vehicle will be.
A turning point could be tomorrow’s high-stakes Democratic caucus lunch. Party firebrands are likely to push to hold out longer, emboldened by Tuesday’s Democratic victories across the country — and voters’ apparent repudiation of President Donald Trump.
But many Democrats feel a sense of fatigue with the standoff and its impacts on food aid and travel. Democratic senators involved in bipartisan negotiations such as Sens. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) and Gary Peters (D-Mich.) celebrated their party’s electoral wins but said talks won’t be affected.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune said Wednesday that Republicans are close to finalizing the “minibus” that would serve as the vehicle for any CR to open the government, though obstacles remain on both sides of the aisle in terms of getting the votes to overcome procedural hurdles.
As for the CR itself, Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) said House and Senate Republicans are close to settling on an end date for the extension of government funding — likely sometime in January.
With so much still up in the air, leadership will have to make some scheduling calls, too. They could opt to stay through the weekend if a deal seems imminent, leave Washington this weekend, or as some Republicans have privately threatened, go into the scheduled recess next week.
In the meantime, political pressure points are growing. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy warned of widespread flight cancellations and the possibility that some airspace might be closed if air traffic controllers miss their second paychecks next week. Lawmakers are also warning that the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program, a major safety net which helps households cover energy costs, could lose funding by the end of the week.
And both parties are still processing a bruising election loss for the GOP. Trump renewed his calls for Republicans to nuke the filibuster to end the shutdown. So far, the Senate GOP has shown little interest in the president’s demands when it comes to the nuclear option, as it sinks in that Trump will be gone in just over three years, while they’ll still be around, Jordain Carney and Meredith Lee Hill report this morning.
Instead, Republicans insist the political pain and realities of a shuttered federal government will eventually force the Democrats to capitulate.
Across the Capitol, Democrats showed little interest in backing down. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries told Democrats on a caucus call Wednesday they would continue “to urge the Senate to stay the course and hold the line.”
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