Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) said Friday that he is pushing for Democrats to “reengage” in bipartisan talks to end the shutdown after the “wheels fell off” when Democrats unified around a plan to push for more concessions.
The two sides were closing in on a deal centered on a short-term spending measure with a “minibus” of three full-year spending bills attached and a future vote on a health care subsidy package in some form.
However, those talks did a U-turn Thursday around lunchtime as Democratic negotiators sounded a sour note, followed by a show of unity across the conference to hold out for more wins in a potential deal.
“AlI know is that the pep rally they had a lunch yesterday evidently changed some minds. I thought we were on a track. We had given them everything they wanted — or had asked for — and at some point … they have to take yes for an answer,” Thune said Friday.
“They were trending in that direction, and then yesterday, the wheels came off, so to speak,” he continued. “We are ready to engage when they are.”
The upper chamber is expected to vote at some point Friday, but it’s not clear on what.
Thune indicated to Senate Republicans on Thursday plans to vote on the House-passed spending bill with the intention of amending it if greenlit.
The changes would have included changing the date from Nov. 21 until sometime in January and a three full-year funding bills — known as a “minibus” — as a commitment to the appropriations process.
But without the possibility of movement, that vote could get punted until the weekend.
Thune also raised the possibility of voting on a proposal by Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) that would pay excepted federal workers and military service members during the duration of the shutdown.
When asked if that would be a full floor vote or an attempt to pass it via unanimous consent, he said it would depend on “what the traffic will bear.”
Either way, the chamber is expected to be here through the weekend.
