Senate Democrats on Thursday blocked the clean GOP House-passed short-term funding bill for the 10th time since the federal government shut down nearly two weeks ago. The move ensures the shutdown will continue into next week as lawmakers leave Washington, D.C., for another long weekend following only three days in session. With both parties entrenched in their positions, bipartisan discussions have slowed considerably. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) has vowed to keep bringing the House-passed continuing resolution (CR), which would fund the government through November 21, to the floor for repeated votes. Some Republicans have floated adjusting the expiration date, but doing so would require the House — in recess for nearly a month — to reconvene and pass a new resolution.
Despite Republican insistence that their CR is the only viable solution, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and his caucus remain focused on negotiating the future of Obamacare subsidies, urging President Donald Trump to join the talks. “We’re willing to have conversations about all the other issues they want to talk about,” Thune said. “But that can’t happen while they are holding the federal government and all these federal employees hostage.” Schumer countered that Republicans have refused to negotiate at all, saying, “Of course, I’m not going to negotiate in public. We need to address the crisis afflicting the American people.” Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) acknowledged that Republicans were not drafting a subsidy proposal, adding that talks had stalled and warning that healthcare could become a “political issue” if no deal is reached by Christmas.
Meanwhile, Republicans are attempting to revive the appropriations process to fund defense and military salaries amid the shutdown. Thune scheduled a procedural vote Thursday on the Senate’s defense funding bill, but Democrats remained uncertain about its details and questioned its relevance while the government remains closed. As in the previous ten votes, Senators John Fetterman (D-Pa.), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), and Angus King (I-Maine) broke with Democrats to back the GOP proposal. Fetterman, who has occasionally sided with Republicans, said any policy disputes unrelated to reopening the government should wait until federal operations are restored.
