Senate Democrats, led by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., have continued to dig in against Senate Republicans in their bid to reopen the government. (Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Johnson noted on the Senate floor that after discussions with Senate Democrats he changed the bill to include furloughed workers, and that his legislation had the backing of several federal employee unions.
"They are sick and tired, being used as pawns in this political dysfunction here. They're tired of it," Johnson said.
Still, after fireworks on the Senate floor where Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., and Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., who initially blocked the bill over concerns that it allowed President Donald Trump to pick and choose who got paid, the bill was blocked largely along party lines.
THUNE SAYS 'WHEELS CAME OFF' AS REPUBLICANS MULL NEXT SHUTDOWN MOVE
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) speaks at a press conference with other members of Senate Republican leadership following a policy luncheon in Washington, DC on October 28, 2025 (Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Schumer’s offer included attaching a one-year extension onto expiring Obamacare subsidies — the main sticking point of the shutdown — in exchange for the Democratic votes to reopen the government.
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But the offer, which a source told Fox News Digital had been made in private to Senate Republicans last week and was summarily rejected, was again not going over well with Republicans.
The Senate is expected to return on Saturday to vote on the House-passed plan for a 15th time. Whether Schumer and his caucus block it once more remains to be seen.
Alex Miller is a writer for Fox News Digital covering the U.S. Senate.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/dems-block-gop-bill-ensuring-federal-worker-military-paychecks-continue-during-shutdown