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Senate Republicans had planned to put the House-passed bill to reopen the government on the floor for a vote again on Friday, but after Senate Democrats’ signaled that they were willing to hold out longer, that course of action is likely to change.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., opted to keep the chamber in session for a rare Friday vote, with the idea being to put the House-passed continuing resolution (CR) on the floor for a 15th time.
However, after Senate Democrats met behind closed doors on Thursday and exited their meeting with a renewed sense of unity, Thune raised the concern that, “We’ve got to get the Democrats back and engaged.”
‘TWISTED IRONY’: DEMOCRATS RISK BETRAYING THEIR OWN PET ISSUES WITH GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN GAMBLE
Senate Majority Leader John Thune speaks during a press conference with Senate Republican leadership following a policy luncheon on Capitol Hill in Washington, Oct. 28, 2025. (Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Bipartisan talks among several Republican and moderate Democratic senators had picked up significantly in the last week, with rays of hope that an end was that near that could cut through the fog of the shutdown.
But Tuesday’s election sweep and pressure from progressives and more left-leaning members of the Democratic caucus have possibly tripped up progress in those talks.
“All I know is that the pep rally they had at lunch yesterday evidently changed some minds,” Thune said. “I thought we were on a track. We were giving them everything they wanted or had asked for, and at some point, I was gonna say, they have to take yes for an answer, and they were trending in that direction. And then yesterday, everything kind of — the wheels came off, so to speak.”
Thune’s remarks came as a flurry of activity was happening behind-the-scenes. The plan was to advance the CR and then add a trio of spending bills in a package known as a minibus, but a series of counteroffers and demands from Senate Democrats have slowed momentum.
OPTIMISM FADES AS SENATE DEMOCRATS DIG IN, HOLD OUT OVER OBAMACARE DEMANDS
WASHINGTON, DC – JUNE 11: Ranking Member Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) speaks as U.S. Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Linda Fagan testifies at a Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Subcommittee on Investigations hearing on Capitol Hill on June 11, 2024 in Washington, DC. Fagan is testifying after Shannon Norenberg, the Coast Guard Academy’s sexual assault response coordinator, resigned Sunday and released a statement alleging she was used to lie and discourage victims of sexual assault from coming forward during a coverup of a report known as “Operation Fouled Anchor.” (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
But some in the Senate GOP don’t appear too keen to the idea of putting the same bill on the floor again without real progress being made.
“There’s no reason to vote on the same stuff that we voted on in the past just to do it again,” Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., said.
It also comes as the Senate creeps toward a scheduled recess for Veterans’ Day next week, and as questions linger on whether Thune will keep lawmakers in town over the weekend. If there’s no CR vote on Friday, it could be punted until Saturday.
“Our members are going to be advised to be available if, in fact, there’s a need to vote, and we will see what happens and whether or not, over the course of the next couple of days, the Democrats can find a way to reengage,” Thune said.
A possible second option could be voting on a bill from Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., to ensure that federal workers and the military would get paid as the shutdown drags on. That bill was blocked by Senate Democrats last month, and since Johnson has workshopped it with his colleagues across the aisle — he plans to offer an amendment that would include furloughed federal workers into the mix, too.
MIKE JOHNSON SHOOTS DOWN OBAMACARE VOTE GUARANTEE AFTER THUNE FLOATS COMPROMISE IN SENATE
Senate Democrats mulled offers from Republicans on a way out of the government shutdown, but have yet to land on a final play call as the closure blasts through record-breaking territory. (Tom Brenner/Getty Images)
He said in a statement to Fox News Digital that he hopes to pass the bill today through unanimous consent or a voice vote, two fast-track methods that don’t require a full vote.
“No Republican senator objects to the bill, and we hope the same is true among the Democrat senators,” Johnson said. “If not, we will call for a roll call vote to reveal which senators are willing to use federal workers as political pawns and jeopardize the safety and security of the American people.”
The core of Senate Democrats’ demand is to see an extension to the expiring Obamacare subsidies in exchange for reopening the government.
Thune and Republicans offered a vote on legislation for the subsidies only after the government reopened, but many Senate Democrats view that as not enough. For now, the chamber is in limbo until a play call is made.
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Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., told Fox Digital that “it seems Republicans don’t know what they want to do.”
“This thing could be solved in an hour, an hour,” he said. “What is their resistance to just stopping these premium increases from going into effect? I mean, this is so insane.”
