Bipartisan discussions are picking up momentum this week as lawmakers face building pressure to end the partial government shutdown ahead of critical deadlines for food stamps and health care, senators said Wednesday.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said there’s been an increase in conversations among rank-and-file senators to reopen the government, though he indicated talks at the leadership level remain stalled.
“It’s ticked up significantly, and hopefully that’ll be a precursor of things to come,” he said, adding he’s hopeful “something here very soon will be fruitful.”
Members of both parties have reported seeing increased bipartisan talks to try to break the monthlong logjam, but they’re not holding their breath just yet for a compromise.
“This week is different than last week, with members of the Senate working to try to move this place to do its work,” Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., said Wednesday.
Sen. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., said she’s also seen “a lot more chatter” across party lines, adding that “there was some of that going on, frankly, most this whole four weeks or whatever, but it’s like for sure [an] uptick.”
‘Getting pretty stale’
As the shutdown approaches its second month, senators say the upcoming Saturday deadline to prevent disruptions to food aid for low-income Americans, missed paychecks for droves of federal workers and a list of other consequences of the prolonged lapse is adding pressure.
Slotkin also suggested Democrats were hoping to build greater political support from next week’s elections, which feature gubernatorial races in New Jersey and Virginia, along with a New York City mayoral race. “There’s going to be an election on Tuesday, and I think we know how those are going to go,” she said.
“We all feel like it’s getting pretty stale, and adults can just get in the room and figure out how to talk to one another,” she said.
Her comments come as lawmakers also stare down a key Saturday start date for open enrollment in health insurance exchanges created by the Obama administration’s health care law, with many Americans expected to see dramatically higher premiums as enhanced tax credits are set to expire at year’s end.
Many Democrats have pushed for a deal to address the expiring enhanced tax credits as part of a bipartisan agreement to fund the government. Republicans have called for a “clean” stopgap bill to fund the government through Nov. 21, with some leaving the door open to a bipartisan health care deal before the credits expire later this year, once the government is reopened.
But there is deep disagreement in the party over what kind of extension could notch sufficient GOP support.
While Sen. Thom Tillis of North Carolina, a key Republican moderate, said Wednesday that he thinks a bipartisan health care deal is “certainly possible,” he noted that “there’s a will on the part of some Republicans, again, not to extend the current policy in perpetuity, but to provide a reasonable ramp down.”
Pressed on the informal bipartisan talks on Wednesday, Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., said she “couldn’t go so far as to say there’s an off-ramp,” but she added it’s clear more senators are talking.
“I think the SNAP issue is really hitting a lot of people like me and others, but everybody in every state, and I think that’s a pretty stark reminder of the impacts,” said Capito, a senior appropriator, referring to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or food stamps.
But for now, at least, the Senate appears on track to leave town Thursday for the weekend, ensuring the shutdown would continue into next week. But Thune didn’t rule out a schedule change if there’s a sign of progress toward a deal.
“As we start seeing something, if something starts to jell, come together, then I think that could be a different conversation, but we’ll see,” Thune said.
Stopgap funding length in play
Several Republicans involved in the discussions have said much of the talks are centered on next steps for the appropriations process, as both chambers have fallen behind in passing the annual funding bills for fiscal 2026.
There has been increased acknowledgment in the Senate GOP conference that Congress needs more time beyond the Nov. 21 deadline set in the House-passed continuing resolution for completing annual spending bills. But there’s no clear agreement on how long to punt the next funding deadline.
In recent weeks, some Republicans have floated a funding extension into January to buy appropriators more time while avoiding a deadline that bumps up against the December holidays that conservatives worry could pave the way for an sprawling omnibus spending package combining all 12 funding bills.
But there has also been openness, particularly within the party’s right flank, to another full-year CR, which could keep government funding mostly at levels last hashed out in 2024.
However, Senate Appropriations Chair Susan Collins, R-Maine, said Wednesday that she is “not eager to go into January.” Other GOP appropriators have also pushed for a stopgap bill that ends before next year.
“I think any long-term extension of the date reduces the chances that appropriations are completed,” Moran said.
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