5th Bid to End Gov Shutdown Fails in Senate

The Senate on Monday pushed the government shutdown to the one-week mark as Democrats blocked the GOP’s “clean” stopgap funding bill from advancing for a fifth time.

Senators voted 52-42 on the House-passed bill, which needed 60 votes to advance and would have funded the government at Biden-era spending levels until late November. The tally has remained virtually unchanged, other than absences, since the shutdown started last Wednesday.

The trio of Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), Angus King (I-Maine) and John Fetterman (D-Pa.) crossed over to vote with Republicans, just as they did three times last week. But no other Democrats joined them, leaving the majority party frustrated that it has been unable to win over more votes.

Democrats are demanding the stopgap bill include an extension of Affordable Care Act (ACA) premium tax credits that are slated to expire at the end of the year.

“I’m wondering just what exactly Democrats think they’re gaining from all of this. I guess they’re getting points from the far-left interest groups they’ve been coordinating their shutdown strategy with,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) said on the floor earlier Monday. “But I highly doubt that they’re earning a lot of points with everyday, hardworking Americans.”

The vote marks the latest sign of stalemate between the two sides. While rank-and-file lawmakers have met at times over the past week to ponder a pathway forward, Thune has made clear he has no reason to meet with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) at this point.

The chamber on Monday also voted along party lines against the Democratic stopgap bill that would attach several health care provisions to an extension of government funding.

“We’re ready to work with Republicans to reopen the government and end the health care crisis that faces tens of millions of Americans,” Schumer said in floor remarks. “But it takes two sides to have a negotiation. We need the Senate Republicans and House Republicans — and the president — to come to the table.”

With little action, Democrats have grown particularly keen on the idea of making President Trump take a more active role in discussions, especially as Thune and Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) have shown little willingness to back off their positions.

Trump indicated to reporters Monday that he was willing to make a deal with Democrats on the expiring ACA credits, which have been at the heart of the Democratic argument.

“We have a negotiation going on right now with the Democrats that could lead to very good things. And I’m talking about good things with regard to health care,” Trump said in the Oval Office.

Democratic congressional leaders retorted that such talks are not happening at the moment, even though they would welcome the negotiations.

“Trump’s claim isn’t true — but if he’s finally ready to work with Democrats, we’ll be at the table,” Schumer said. “If President Trump and Republicans are finally ready to sit down and get something done on health care for American families, Democrats will be there — ready to make it happen.”

Adding a layer to the struggle to find a deal, the House remains out of town, putting the onus on the upper chamber to figure out the path forward. Johnson indicated Monday that House members will remain back in their districts until senators strike a deal.

“I’m anxious to get my folks back,” Johnson told reporters Monday. “I want to bring the House back into session and get back to work, but we can’t do it until they turn the lights back on. We need Chuck Schumer to reopen the government, and as soon as he does that, we’ll bring everybody back.”

At present, the House is slated to return next week. The Senate is expected to vote on the pair of funding bills for a sixth time later this week.