Get ready for a do-or-die Senate weekend.
Senate GOP Leader John Thune will try to break the shutdown impasse Friday. Democrats we’ve spoken to say he won’t succeed, as they dig in to force more GOP concessions in the coming days.
Thune will tee up another vote on the House-passed CR Friday as part of a plan that could pave the way for ending the shutdown. The majority of Democrats said Thursday night they’d block the effort — even as party moderates are talking with Republicans about an offer that would advance a minibus appropriations package and revised stopgap into at least December, with a promise of a future vote on extending Affordable Care Act subsidies.
Some Republicans and Democrats are also discussing whether the revised stopgap funding deal could include language to reverse President Donald Trump’s RIFs and add stronger provisions to guarantee back pay for federal workers, although key details still need to be hammered out.
Both parties had seemed optimistic heading into this week. But the mood has turned gloomier, and those involved in bipartisan talks were skeptical there would be a breakthrough Friday. GOP leaders were noncommittal Thursday on whether the Senate would stay in Washington through the weekend.
“Unfortunately, it’s folks trying to figure out a path forward. But there is no organized effort at this point that is bearing fruit,” Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) told reporters Thursday. “There are attempts to find a way to bring people forward, but I’m discouraged. I’m hoping that overnight, things might change a little bit, but I’m not optimistic.”
Voters are about to feel the pinch, with the Trump administration slashing flights and airlines pleading for Congress to end the shutdown. Behind the scenes, some Senate Democrats are trying to come up with options to address the expiring Affordable Care Act subsidies that could realistically pass the House. Reaching a bipartisan agreement on the subsidies has become a difficult and politically challenging issue for Democrats, with many highly skeptical their GOP counterparts will ever follow through on the issue once the shutdown ends, Benjamin Guggenheim reports this morning.
Some freshman Democratic senators are trying to make progress: Sens. Andy Kim and Lisa Blunt Rochester plan to meet with GOP Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick (Penn.) and Jeff Van Drew (N.J.) Friday to talk about a possible bipartisan plan. One Democratic aide involved in bipartisan talks said “we are not going to get a better offer.”
“The hardliners have yet to articulate any sense whatsoever of how they think this ends or any proposal to get Republicans to the table other than waiting longer and longer,” another Democratic aide said. “And in the meantime it’s the families who can afford it the least that are increasingly getting walloped by the shutdown.”
What else we’re watching:
— Crypto bill in progress: Senate Agriculture Chair John Boozman said he came away from a Wednesday call with White House crypto and AI czar David Sacks feeling “95 percent” aligned on a major crypto market structure bill
The Agriculture Committee is nearing a draft deal on its portion of the crypto bill that would outline oversight of the industry by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. The House passed its version of the overhaul of crypto regulations in March, and the crypto industry has been pushing for the Senate to pass its own version swiftly.
— GOP fears LIHEAP funding cliff: Many Republicans are fretting that constituents who rely on federal subsidies to help them pay their heating bills won’t get support as the shutdown continues into the colder months. The Trump administration has proposed zeroing out the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program’s entire budget making it unlikely to disburse additional funds without being compelled by Congress to do so through a government funding bill.
Jordain Carney, Calen Razor, Andres Picon and Meredith Lee Hill contributed to this report.
