Schumer Offers ‘Deal’ To Reopen Government But It Won’t Fly With GOP

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) has abruptly shifted his approach in the ongoing government shutdown, now backing a limited reopening plan similar to a proposal Republican leaders briefly considered — and then rejected — earlier in the negotiations.

For weeks, Schumer and Senate Democrats have refused to provide the votes needed to pass a clean continuing resolution (CR), instead attempting to use the shutdown as leverage to secure an extension of Affordable Care Act subsidies. With that effort stalled — and public pressure increasing — Schumer is now pushing to restore funding only to certain programs, without the subsidy expansion he previously insisted on, Axios reported.

The maneuver appears designed to reposition Democrats politically by placing the burden of the shutdown’s growing fallout on Republicans, despite Democrats being the ones blocking the House-passed full government funding measure. Because 60 votes are required in the Senate to advance spending legislation and there are only 53 Republicans, Democratic cooperation is necessary to reopen the government.

“Democrats will introduce a clean, standalone bill today to … keep SNAP benefits flowing,” Schumer said on the Senate floor.

Axios reported that this shift was made possible after Senate GOP leadership decided against pursuing a “rifle-shot” strategy to reopen select portions of the government. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) had floated the idea of passing targeted funding bills after broader attempts to restore government operations failed three times. However, top Republicans ultimately determined that such piecemeal funding would weaken their negotiating position.

The idea was formally scrapped during a closed-door Senate GOP lunch Tuesday, where Vice President J.D. Vance — formerly a senator from Ohio — strongly warned the conference that moving forward with partial reopening would only encourage Democratic brinkmanship.

Meanwhile, the shutdown continues under the blockade imposed by Senate Democrats. The House passed a clean CR more than a month ago, but Schumer has prevented it from moving to final passage. As a result, SNAP benefits are running out, military personnel are going unpaid, and hundreds of thousands of federal workers have now missed paychecks.

“This is starting to become very real. They are playing with people’s actual lives,” House Republican Whip Tom Emmer (R-Minn.) said Thursday on Fox & Friends.

Tensions boiled over on the Senate floor Wednesday, where Thune delivered a forceful rebuke of Democrats for refusing to reopen the government.

“Let me just point out, if I might, that we are 29 days into a Democrat shutdown,” Thune said. “SNAP recipients shouldn’t go without food. People should be getting paid in this country. And we’ve tried to do that 13 times. You voted no 13 times.”

As Democrats pressed for a vote on their narrow bill, Thune grew visibly frustrated:

“You all just figured out, 29 days in, that, oh, there might be some consequences? There are people who’ll run out of money? Yeah, we’re 29 days in,” he said, slamming the lectern. “At some point, the government runs out of money. My aching back. You finally realize this thing has consequences.”

Republicans argue that Democrats are intentionally prolonging the shutdown to force unrelated spending concessions, including the extension of Obamacare subsidies and nearly $1.5 trillion in new spending that would reverse GOP-led cuts.

“This isn’t a political game,” Thune said. “These are real people’s lives that we’re talking about.”

The standoff comes as millions of Americans rely on SNAP to cover food costs. Competing bills have emerged, including a Democrat-backed measure to fund only SNAP and a Republican proposal from Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) covering both SNAP and military pay.

But Thune emphasized that the core issue hasn’t changed: Democrats must allow a full reopening of the government — not just the parts that best serve their messaging strategy.