Senate Majority Leader John Thune intends to hold a vote Friday on a legislative package that would end the government shutdown now in its 37th day, though details are still sketchy and the prospects for success are anything but certain.
Thune’s plan involves bringing up three major appropriations bills for fiscal year 2026, combined with the short-term funding extension passed by the House but amended with an ending date in January rather than in November, along with a promise to vote on enhanced subsidies for Affordable Care Act health plans by a certain date. While Democrats have rejected that House funding bill more than a dozen times, Thune’s goal is to win over enough moderate Democrats who have grown weary of the shutdown to push the package through.
The plan could be delayed by various procedural hurdles, though Republican leaders said they will work through the weekend if they need to.
Thune may have some major hurdles to cross as he looks for enough disaffected Democrats to make his plan work. Following a lunchtime meeting, Democratic senators indicated that they are sticking with their strategy of demanding an extension of the enhanced ACA subsidies in exchange for their votes.
Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut told reporters that this week’s election results have bolstered Democrats’ resolve. “Obviously, voters were really focused on costs on Tuesday,” he said. “All of us in the caucus heard that loud and clear. We want to stick together, unified, and we had a really good conversation about how to do that.”
Earlier plan fizzles: There was a glimmer of hope earlier Thursday that the shutdown showdown could be nearing an end, as Republicans reportedly made a slightly different offer to end the stalemate. Although the details are unclear, the offer revolved around a package with some of the same elements as the one Thune is contemplating, including appropriations bills for fiscal year 2026 and the promise of a vote on the enhanced subsidies for ACA health plans that Democrats have demanded. In addition, it reportedly included a pledge by Republicans to support a plan to reinstate about 6,000 federal employees who were fired during the shutdown.
A rush of optimism quickly gave way to frustration, though, as Speaker Mike Johnson made it clear that he has no plans to allow a vote on extending ACA subsidies in the House before the shutdown ends. “I’m not promising anybody anything,” he told reporters Thursday morning, adding his familiar refrain that the House has already done its job as far as he is concerned by passing a clean short-term funding bill back in September.
Some Democrats expressed skepticism about the proposed deal, as well. “Settling for some kind of vague promise about a vote in the future on some indeterminate bill without any definite inclusion in the law, I think is a mistake,” said Sen. Richard Blumenthal. “I think voters would rightly see it as a surrender.”
Trump still wants to nuke the filibuster: President Trump continued to call on Republican senators to eliminate the filibuster and pass the House’s short-term funding bill on their own with a simple majority rather than the 60 votes usually needed.
“The Democrats will terminate the Filibuster in THE FIRST HOUR, if and when they assume ‘control’ or power,” Trump wrote on his social media platform. “Republicans have what the Democrats want — We should do it, NOW, and have the greatest three years in History!”
Thune has been cool to the idea, though, and has stated that there aren’t enough votes in the Senate to eliminate the filibuster.