Furloughed federal employees wait in line for hours at a special food distribution by the Capital Area Food Bank and No Limits Outreach Ministries on Barlowe Road in Hyattsville, Maryland, on Tuesday, October 28, 2025. (Photo by Ashley Murray/States Newsroom)
WASHINGTON — Senators said Friday that they plan to stay in town through the weekend. This is a sign that negotiations to approve an emergency measure and end the government shutdown, now in its 38th day, could be getting underway.
A vote on a package of spending bills could take place either Saturday or Sunday and could partially fund the government, Senate Majority Leader John Thune told reporters.
“Our members are advised to be available if voting is needed,” said Thune. “We’ll see what happens and whether Democrats can find a way to re-engage over the course of the next few days.”
Meanwhile, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer floated a Democratic proposal to agree to reopen the government if health care tax subsidies continued for a year.
With the start of open enrollment, people who purchase health insurance through the Affordable Care Act Marketplace will see a dramatic boost in premium costs.
“We want to make a simple proposal,” the New York Democrat said. “To reopen the government while extending the (Affordable Care Act) tax credits.”
Republicans have maintained that discussion about extending health care tax credits, which are set to expire at the end of the year, will not take place until government funding resumes. House Speaker Mike Johnson said this week he would not promise a vote in the Republican-controlled House on the issue.
The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office noted in September If lawmakers permanently extend expanded tax credits for certain people who buy health insurance through the ACA marketplace, it would cost the government $350 billion over 10 years and boost the number of people with health insurance by 3.8 million.
But it was unclear how much traction Schumer would get. Several Republicans called the proposal a “non-starter,” such as Sen. Mike Rounds of South Dakota.
Rounds also questioned whether the stopgap bill Democrats agreed to is the House-passed version, which would only extend government funding through Nov. 21, or another that would run longer.
“It’s good that they recognize that we need to open up the government,” Rounds said of Democrats.
Oklahoma Sen. Markwayne Mullin called the Democrats’ proposal “absurd” and said there was no way for senators to quickly negotiate a deal on health care.
He added that Trump also wants to take part in the healthcare negotiations.
“Whatever we do as Republicans, we really need to work closely with the president,” Mullin said. “The president wants to be included in these negotiations.”
Separately, senators failed by a vote of 53-43 on Friday to advance a bill from Republican Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin that would pay federal workers who missed their second paycheck on Friday. Georgia’s Democratic senators Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock voted with Republicans. 60 votes were required.
President Donald Trump said on social media: “The United States Senate should not leave town until they reach an agreement to end the Democratic shutdown. If they cannot reach an agreement, Republicans should end the filibuster IMMEDIATELY and take care of our great American workers!”
Flight cuts, food aid disruption
The Senate has failed 14 times push forward the approval of an emergency funding solution for the government by November 21st.
Since the government shutdown lasted almost seven weeks, major airports were also affected have difficulty keeping to flight schedules, with air traffic controllers now more than a month without pay.
In the meantime, Federal courts have enforced The Trump administration wants to release billions of dollars in emergency aid to provide 42 million people with vital food aid. On Friday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said it would provide full November food aid benefits in accordance with a court order.
As debate continues in Congress, Democrats have refused to support Republicans’ version of the stopgap measure passed by the House, citing concerns about the expiration of health care subsidies.
Democrats also want federal workers laid off by the Trump administration during the shutdown to be rehired. Major victories for Democrats across the country in Tuesday’s state elections strengthened their resolve to reject efforts to end the government shutdown that do not include specific policy victories.
In the past, there was no legislature to force closures based on political preferences successful.
In 2013, the Republican Party tried to repeal or delay the Affordable Care Act, but that failed, and in the 2018-2019 shutdown, Trump insisted on additional funding for a border wall in his first term. But that shutdown — which was a record surpassed only by the current shutdown — ended 35 days later with the same amount of money included in the original budget bill.
Thune lawsuit
Thune told reporters Friday that he believed progress was being made toward negotiating a deal to restore state funding, but said her mind changed after the Democratic caucus meeting on Thursday.
“Right now we have to somehow re-engage the Democrats,” Thune said.
Following the meeting on Thursday The Democrats remained hushed and appeared to be no closer to an internal agreement on how to move forward with resolving the government shutdown.
“I thought we were on the right track,” said Thune, a Republican from South Dakota. “We would give them anything they wanted or asked for.”
Senate Republicans have agreed to a vote on Affordable Care Act subsidies, opening the door to rehiring federal workers, but have gone no further.
“At some point … they have to answer yes, and they’re leaning that way,” Thune said. “And then yesterday the wheels sort of came off, but it’s up to them.”
Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut told reporters Thursday that voters had a robust performance this week rebuking the Trump administration and that Democrats must continue their fight amid the government shutdown.
“On Tuesday, we all heard that loud and clear in the caucus,” Murphy said. “We want to stay together and united. I think everyone understands the significance of what happened on Tuesday and wants us to move forward in a way that honors that.”
Federal employee pay bill
Federal workers going without pay for more than a month remains a concern, and Johnson sought to pass his bill by unanimous consent that would send them paychecks. By law, employees are paid after a business interruption ends.
Gary Peters of Michigan objected to Johnson’s bill, saying the Trump administration would not exploit the funds to pay federal workers and the measure would not prevent the firing of federal workers.
Peters noted how the Trump administration initially appealed a federal court order that forced the U.S. Department of Agriculture to pay $9 billion in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits.
Peters proposed his own bill to set “guidelines” for presidential powers to ensure the funds are used to pay federal employees and not shifted. The Trump administration has shifted billions in research funding within the Defense Department over several years to ensure troops are paid.
“He goes over Congress all the time,” Peters said of the president while sitting in the Senate.
Johnson rejected Peters’ bill. He argued that his bill did not expand presidential powers.
“We were very careful not to let that happen,” Johnson told reporters of his bill.
The American Federation of Government Employees, a union representing 800,000 federal workers, called on Democrats on Friday to support Johnson’s bill.
AFGE National President Everett Kelley said in a letter to senators Friday that Thanksgiving is less than three weeks away and Congress must come to an agreement on funding the government.
“Every missed paycheck deepens the financial hole facing federal employees and their families,” Kelley said. “By the time Congress reaches a compromise, the damage will be done to their bank accounts, their credit ratings, their health and their dignity.”
