Senate Democrats' three-year extension of expiring enhanced Obamacare subsidies was destined to fail as the Senate prepared to vote on dueling proposals. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
"We want to get through the process and get the appropriations bills done," Schumer said.
It’s a stark departure from his and Democrats’ earlier position, given that they shut the government down for a record 43 days in a bid to bring expiring Obamacare subsidies to the forefront of discussions.
Congressional Democrats also have been leery of working with their Republican counterparts after President Donald Trump’s roughly $9 billion clawback package, which cut funding to already agreed-to programs and priorities, passed on a partisan vote over the summer.
A similar issue played out just as the Senate was on the cusp of advancing a five-bill spending package before skipping town.
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Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., tried to derail Senate Republicans' bid to confirm over 80 of President Donald Trump's nominees, but the GOP instead is putting even more into a package for a vote next week. (Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images)
And Congressional Democrats are likely to use the healthcare issue as leverage during the impending spending fight.
Exactly how lawmakers avoid another shutdown is still in the air. The Senate is determined to advance its five bill package, which includes legislation to fund the departments of Defense, Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, Commerce, Justice, Interior, Transportation, and Housing and Urban Development.
But in order for those bills to make it to Trump’s desk, the House has to agree. So far, the lower chamber has only passed a handful of spending bills, and has not brought any appropriations bills to the floor for months.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., already is gaming out a "a contingency plan."
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"We got to fund the government by the end of the month," Thune said. "And so we're looking at, you know, determining what that looks like, obviously, if we can pass the five bill package, and if we can't, then what that looks like."
"So there's a lot of thought being given and just to make sure that we don't end up in a, you know, posture at the end of the month where we're looking at, staring at a shutdown again," he continued.
Alex Miller is a writer for Fox News Digital covering the U.S. Senate.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/senate-races-avoid-government-shutdown-time-ticking-lingering-issues