The Senate will remain in session until a funding deal is struck, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., announced on Saturday, signaling that lawmakers are prioritizing an end to the ongoing government shutdown, which entered its 39th day amid bipartisan tension.
Thune told reporters on Saturday that senators will remain in Washington until a deal is reached to reopen the federal government, sidelining the scheduled Veterans Day recess.
When asked whether the chamber would stay in session until the government reopens, Thune said simply: “Yeah.”
The rare Saturday meeting comes as the shutdown, which began Oct. 1 when Congress failed to pass a spending plan, has now stretched into its sixth week.
Democrats on Friday proposed reopening the government immediately via a clean continuing resolution coupled with a one-year extension of enhanced health-insurance subsidies under the Affordable Care Act and a three-bill “minibus” full-year funding package.
Republicans rejected the offer, saying they will not negotiate on the subsidy extension until the government is reopened.
Thune said Republicans’ immediate aim is to finalize and release the text of the minibus funding package and hope for a vote “some time this weekend.” He acknowledged that the deal is still pending enough votes. “We’re getting close to having it ready,” he said. “Ideally … we could vote today, but we have to … have the votes to actually pass it.”
Republicans control both the House and Senate, but fall short of the 60 votes required in the Senate to advance most legislation. That gives Democrats leverage despite being in the minority.
Democrats argue the health-insurance subsidies are popular with voters and insist they are non-negotiable before backing a funding resolution. Republicans counter that bridging the shutdown must come first via a “clean resolution” without policy riders.
One Republican senator, Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., told reporters on Saturday that a conference consensus has emerged around a January 30 end-date for the temporary resolution, although Thune declined to confirm a specific timeframe for the stopgap measure.
As the shutdown continues, key federal services remain unfunded, and many federal workers are unpaid.
The pressure to reach a deal grows as logistical disruptions mount and public patience wanes.
The coming days are shaping up to be a test of Republican unity and Democratic flexibility, with Thune signaling that reopening the government takes precedence over policy negotiations, and Democrats holding firm on their demand for subsidy extensions.
But with no guarantee of when votes will occur or what form the resolution will take, the path ahead remains uncertain even as senators plan to sit through the weekend.
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