Senate Democrats Block GOP Plan To End Shutdown for 14th Time

Senate Democrats once again voted to keep the federal government closed on Tuesday, marking the 35th day of the Schumer Shutdown and the 14th time they’ve refused to reopen the government by passing a clean funding measure.

Speaking to reporters about the progress of bipartisan negotiations, Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) expressed cautious optimism that lawmakers are nearing a deal.

“I hope close, but the pressures, the cross-pressures that everybody’s feeling, are great,” Thune said. “But I think there are people who realize this has gone on long enough and there’s been enough pain inflicted on the American people and it’s time to end it. We’ll see whether the sufficient numbers are there.”

Thune emphasized that Republicans have already made clear what they are willing to compromise on regarding appropriations, government funding, and potential adjustments to Obamacare.

“So the universe I think is pretty defined and established,” he added. “The question is whether or not they take yes for an answer.”

The South Dakota Republican said he’s hopeful progress will come soon.

“We are trying to land this appropriations bill on which I think a continuing resolution could ride, and obviously we’re going to have to extend the date as everybody knows because we’re already up against the November deadline right now. So we’ll see in the next few days where it goes,” Thune said.

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) confirmed that if the Senate does reach a deal, the House will swiftly return to vote on any revised funding bill.

“If the Senate passes something, of course we’ll come back,” Johnson said. “We’re running out of clock, obviously.”

Johnson said he favors extending the funding date into January rather than December to avoid the last-minute, bloated spending packages that have plagued Washington for years.

“I am not a fan of extending it to December, because, let’s be frank, a lot of people around here have PTSD about Christmas omnibus spending bills. We don’t want to do that. It gets too close, and we don’t want to have that risk. We’re not doing that,” he said. “Too many people have concerns. I think putting it into January makes sense, but we’ve got to obviously build consensus around that.”

Meanwhile, Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) said he’s “pretty confident” the standoff will end this week.

“You can’t make sense out of crazy, and that’s where Chuck Schumer’s been this whole time, and it’s hard to fight politics and policy at the same time,” Mullin said. “But I will tell you there’s enough Democrats that I’m friends with that were willing to vote last week, and they were assured that Schumer would let them vote the way they need to this week.”

President Donald J. Trump, continuing to lead negotiations from the White House, has urged Senate Republicans to invoke the “nuclear option” — changing Senate rules to allow legislation to pass with a simple majority vote — to finally end the shutdown and fund the government.

Trump blasted Democrat demands that include $1.5 trillion in new spending, including healthcare benefits for illegal immigrants, warning it would “hurt American citizens, and Republicans will not let it happen.”

The 60-vote threshold required to advance funding legislation in the Senate has prevented Republicans from passing a short-term continuing resolution to restore pre-shutdown funding levels. Since October 1, all but three Senate Democrats have voted against the Trump-backed plan more than a dozen times. Republicans currently need five additional votes to move the measure forward.

The shutdown, which President Trump has accurately dubbed the “Schumer Shutdown,” has now stretched beyond a month. The President also pointed out that ending the legislative filibuster would unlock far broader reforms:

“All of the other things we would get — such as the best Judges, the best U.S. Attorneys, the best of everything.”

As pressure mounts from both the public and federal workers, Republicans are urging Democrats to stop playing politics with Americans’ livelihoods and end the shutdown that they alone continue to prolong.