Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and his caucus blocked the GOP’s CR for the third time. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
There were glimmers of hope on Tuesday that more Democrats would break ranks and vote for the bill when Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., and Angus King, I-Maine, joined Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., to vote for the bill.
However, that trio remained the only members of the Democratic caucus that crossed the aisle on Wednesday.
"We are just one Senate roll call vote away from ending the shutdown," Thune said. "We need a handful of Democrats to join Republicans to reopen the government. And once we do that, then we can talk about the issues that Democrats are raising. But we're not going to engage in bipartisan discussions while Democrats are holding the federal government hostage to their partisan demands."
The GOP’s ranks held, too, save for Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky, who again voted against the bill.
DEMS 'SACRIFICED THE AMERICAN PEOPLE,' THUNE SAYS AS GOVERNMENT BARRELS TOWARD MIDNIGHT SHUTDOWN
President Donald Trump walks to Air Force One at Morristown Airport on Sept. 14, 2025, in Morristown, New Jersey. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
But the crux of their wishlist is focused on the Obamacare tax credits. They do not expire until the end of this year, but Democrats warned that Americans who are enrolled in the healthcare program and rely on the subsidies would see their rates skyrocket by an average of 114% if Congress did not act.
Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, argued that Democrats’ position was not some "sort of cooked-up demand."
"The reason that we are trying to take action now on healthcare is because people's premiums are going up this coming week," he said.
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Meanwhile, Trump warned ahead of the vote that his administration and the Office of Management and Budget, led by Director Russ Vought, could do things "that are irreversible," like mass firings and cutting programs favored by Democrats.
Vought and the OMB sent out a memo last week that directed agencies to implement mass firings beyond the typical furloughs that happen during a shutdown. And the Congressional Budget Office projected that about 750,000 employees would be furloughed per day at a cost of roughly $400 million in daily back pay.
Alex Miller is a writer for Fox News Digital covering the U.S. Senate.
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