WASHINGTON — The Senate is grinding through a rare weekend session, with lawmakers trapped in a political standoff that has kept the government partially shut down for 39 days — and no clear end in sight.
Behind closed doors, Senate appropriators are working on a package of three spending bills to attach to the House-passed continuing resolution (CR), hoping to temporarily reopen the government through December or January. But as of Saturday, the plan wasn’t ready, and no votes were scheduled.
Instead, the Senate floor became a battlefield for familiar partisan fights — with Republicans hammering Obamacare and Democrats defending their push to extend healthcare subsidies set to expire.
🔴 Thune Digs In: “We’re Staying Until It’s Done”
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R–S.D.) made it clear that lawmakers shouldn’t expect to go home until the shutdown ends, even with a scheduled Veterans Day recess next week.
“It’d be ideal to have the package on the floor,” Thune said Saturday. “But we’ve got to have votes to actually pass it.”
Republicans are reluctant to bring up another CR that could fail again — something that’s already happened 14 times since the standoff began.
“I think we’re getting close to having it ready,” Thune added. “We just need to get the text out there.”
The spending package could be one step toward reopening the government — but Democrats appear ready to block it, just as they’ve done before.
🔵 Schumer, Democrats Push New Plan — and GOP Says “No Way”
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D–N.Y.), buoyed by his party’s Election Day wins, rolled out a new plan:
- Extend enhanced Obamacare subsidies for one year
- Create a bipartisan working group to negotiate broader funding issues after the government reopens
Republicans immediately rejected the offer. Thune called it a “non-starter,” and other GOP senators said Democrats were playing politics with healthcare.
Sen. Eric Schmitt (R–Mo.) said he plans to appeal to President Donald Trump to redirect federal funds away from “pet projects” in blue states to pay federal workers during the shutdown.
“The idea that you’ve got a bunch of kamikaze pilots trying to burn this whole place down because Democrats won in Democrat areas is totally insane,” Schmitt said.
Schumer shot back, saying Republicans were making a “terrible mistake” by rejecting what he called a good-faith offer to restart the government.
“If something bad happens in your family, you don’t quit on your family,” Schumer said. “That’s when your family needs you the most — and this country needs its leaders right now.”
💬 Both Sides Dig In — With No End in Sight
Republicans insist the healthcare subsidies — expanded under President Joe Biden during the pandemic — amount to corporate giveaways for insurers.
Sen. Katie Britt (R–Ala.), who has been in talks with Democrats on a funding path, said the subsidies help big companies more than patients.
“Since Obamacare came into effect, look who’s gotten rich — it’s not the people,” Britt said.
Democrats, meanwhile, argue that the GOP’s refusal to negotiate is prolonging the pain for millions of Americans impacted by the shutdown.
Sen. Chris Murphy (D–Conn.) said his party’s proposal was a modest, realistic offer that Republicans should have accepted.
“We made a really simple, really scaled-down offer that could get the government up and operating,” Murphy said. “I still don’t understand why they won’t accept it.”
⚖️ What Happens Next
With no vote scheduled and both sides blaming each other, the shutdown looks set to drag into next week — and possibly beyond.
Thune says he’s prepared for a “long haul,” and Schumer isn’t backing down. That means the Senate could remain gridlocked well into November, with federal workers, military families, and millions of Americans caught in the middle of Washington’s latest standoff.
