Senate Majority Leader John Thune laid out a path to end the government shutdown in an exclusive interview Wednesday, saying he is willing to discuss the shape of future health care negotiations if a “critical mass” of Democrats say they are willing to support a House-passed funding bill in return.

The comments, made in his Capitol office less than 18 hours into the first shutdown since 2019, are in keeping with the South Dakota Republican’s current strategy — which is to let pressure build on Democrats to back the GOP-led House stopgap as the only solution.

But Thune acknowledged that he has had back-channel conversations with Democrats and…

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