Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., wants to reignite the government funding process, but Senate Democrats appear unwilling to support his effort. (Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images)
But Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., now wants to keep lawmakers in town until the shutdown ends.
When asked if there would be a vote on the plan, Thune said it would be ideal to have the package on the floor, but that "we've got to have votes to actually pass it." Republicans are reticent to putting the CR out again just to see it fail.
"I've been talking all morning with some of the folks that are involved with the meeting, and I think we're getting close to having it ready," Thune said. "We just need to get the text out there."
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and his caucus, freshly emboldened by sweeping Election Day victories earlier in the week, are sticking by their newly released plan that would extend the expiring Obamacare subsidies by one year, and create a bipartisan working group to negotiate next steps after the government reopens.
But Senate Republicans immediately rejected the idea; Thune called it a "non-starter," while others in the GOP were angered by the proposal.
Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., charged that he would appeal to President Donald Trump and his administration to slash funding from "pet projects" in blue states and cities to pay federal workers as the shutdown drags on.
SCHUMER, DEMS UNVEIL ALTERNATIVE SHUTDOWN PLAN, ASK FOR ONE-YEAR EXTENSION TO OBAMACARE SUBSIDIES
U.S. President Donald Trump waits for the arrival of Prime Minister of Australia Anthony Albanese at the White House on October 20, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
After Schumer unveiled Democrats’ plan, she charged that "since Obamacare came into effect, look, who's gotten rich? It's not the people."
"They're talking about the people's premiums and have … they taken it to the companies that are actually making the money off of it? They're not," Britt said. "So I look forward to hearing why in the world they want to continue these profits and not actually help the people they serve."
Senate Democrats, however, contend that their offer was fair.
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Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., argued that there were some in the caucus that wanted to do a multi-year extension, while others wanted to go beyond just the enhanced subsidies. He reiterated his frustration that the core of the issue, from his perspective, was that neither Schumer nor Thune would sit down and negotiate.
"We made a really simple, really scaled-down offer that could get the government up and operating and [is] really good for them politically," he said. "I just still don't understand why they won't accept the offer."
Alex Miller is a writer for Fox News Digital covering the U.S. Senate.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/senate-limbo-thune-eyes-long-haul-until-shutdown-ends