Shutdown-ending stopgap will have to move first in any deal, Thune says

Senate Majority Leader John Thune struck a cautionary note Thursday as bipartisan talks that could end the 30-day government shutdown kick into a higher gear, warning that a deal to advance full-year spending bills would move forward only after Democrats agree to a stopgap measure reopening federal agencies.

Thune told reporters it would likely take days, if not weeks, for the Senate to pass a package of larger spending bills.

“Even if you’ve got consent it’s still going to take a while to move those bills across the floor so we’ve got to reopen the government and then we’ll have a normal appropriations process,” he said.

The comments come amid…

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