The Senate is trapped in a shutdown Groundhog’s Day with no end in sight.
Senators rejected dueling stopgap spending bills Monday for the fifth time as lawmakers show few signs of nearing a detente —even as the shutdown-induced pain is poised to grow as the federal funding lapse heads into its second workweek.
Senate Republicans had hoped the Trump administration’s imminent threat of mass firings, paired with a weekend back home to hear from constituents, would shake loose even a couple of potential swing-vote Democrats. Add to that the fact that most federal workers and active duty members of the military are due to miss their first paychecks Oct. 10 and Oct. 15, respectively.
But Monday evening, Democratic Sens. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania and Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada — alongside Independent Sen. Angus King of Maine, who caucuses with Democrats — were once again the only three to break ranks and vote to advance the GOP-led stopgap bill, which would fund the government until Nov. 21.
Earlier in the day, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) reiterated that Democrats are ready to negotiate on a deal to end the shutdown, but the discussion on health care needs to happen now.
“We’re ready to work with Republicans to reopen the government and end the health care crisis that faces tens of millions of Americans. But it takes two sides to have a negotiation,” Schumer said.
Republicans also again rejected the Democratic stopgap that would link government funding through October to the party’s health care priorities, including a permanent extension of soon-to-expire Affordable Care Act subsidies, plus restrictions on President Donald Trump’s ability to unilaterally claw back congressionally approved funding.
Top Democrats have demanded a “bipartisan negotiation” on health care as part of the government funding fight. Expanded ACA subsidies aren’t set to expire until the end of the year, but with open enrollment for Obamacare plans to begin Nov. 1, Democrats — and some Republicans — view that as the real deadline for getting an agreement for an extension.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune has said he is only open to negotiating on the health care tax credits once the government is reopened, a position that even some moderate members of his conference have backed. The South Dakota Republican doubled down on this stance Monday.
“We said we’re willing to have those conversations, but it starts with ending the shutdown,” Thune said.
Thune said that while he didn’t speak with Schumer over the weekend, he would talk to his Democratic counterpart going forward if it was “useful.” He added that he hoped enough Democrats would soon change their minds and vote to advance the House-passed stopgap, but that it “sounds like they’re still stuck at the moment.”
He has also warned that while he can promise a discussion on an extension of the enhanced ACA tax credits, he can’t guarantee a deal, which will also need to clear the House and garner Trump’s blessing. This uncertainty has made some Democrats wary of accepting anything short of an ironclad agreement, exacerbating an already deep lack of trust between the two parties — and between Democrats and Trump, in particular.
Yet Republicans are betting they will eventually win over enough Democratic senators to reopen the government, seeking to keep pressure up by forcing votes related to the funding bills every day until the shutdown ends. With Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) voting “no,” Republicans need a total of eight Democrats to break with Schumer.
Senators from both parties are trying to find an off-ramp — largely around setting up a framework for what will happen to the ACA credits and the fiscal 2026 appropriations process once the shutdown ends.
But so far lawmakers involved in the bipartisan discussions have failed to sway more Democrats to back the GOP-led stopgap.
“They’re good conversations but they don’t quite seem ready yet,” Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), the chair of the Appropriations Committee, said about talks with Democrats.
Calen Razor and Jennifer Scholtes contributed to this report.
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