Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) told reporters Saturday that senators will remain in session until an agreement is reached to reopen the government, as the shutdown has reached its 39th day and members are still far from an agreement.
When asked if lawmakers would remain in town until an agreement is reached, Thune responded “yes.” The upper chamber was not scheduled to be in Washington because of the break around Veterans Day but will be in session instead.
Thune spoke as the Senate convened for a uncommon Saturday session after the path to an agreement took several twists and turns on Friday.
Democrats on Friday proposed a one-year extension of expanded health care subsidies set to expire at the end of December, along with a immaculate continuation resolution and a three-bill package of full-year spending bills known as the “minibus.”
republican I quickly rejected this offerwith a bipartisan group of lawmakers continuing discussions overnight. Thune said the immediate goal is to capture and publish the minibus text in hopes of voting on it sometime this weekend.
Thune added that the cross-party discussions that took place overnight were “positive.”
“The question is whether we can have everything ready to go,” Thune said, noting that he has spoken with appropriators about the minibus text. “We’re very close to having it ready. Ideally, it would be great to put it up so we could vote today, but we need to… have the votes to actually pass it.”
“I can’t tell you anything in terms of a final time frame, except to say that the text has to be published and then we have to hope that we have the necessary votes,” he added.
The GOP leader also declined to say when the proposed short-term continuation solution will be implemented. Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) told reporters that a consensus had emerged in the conference on the Jan. 30 end date.
Before Democrats pushed for a deal with a one-year extension of the tax credits, negotiators discussed the outlines of a deal that focused on a recent continuing resolution, a connected van and a vote on a bill to extend the tax credits. Thune insisted he could guarantee Democrats a “process” but not an “outcome” that includes passage of a tax credit extension.
