Any hope for a quick end to the government shutdown dimmed Thursday, as Senate Democrats signaled they are prepared to hold out longer for a deal on expiring Obamacare subsidies.
According to Fox News, the party emerged from another long closed-door caucus lunch, showing unity even as Republicans pushed to reopen the government. The shutdown has now entered its 37th day.
“We had a very good, productive meeting,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said after the lunch.
Senate Democrats, buoyed by Tuesday’s Election Day victories, appeared determined to maintain leverage.
“It’s not about holding out,” Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., said. “We fight for access to healthcare for millions of people across this country. Affordability is a giant issue for American families. They told us that at the polls on Tuesday, but they tell us that every day of their lives.”
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., plans to bring the House-passed continuing resolution (CR) to the floor Friday to test Democrats’ resolve.
The measure is expected to be blocked again. Thune and other Republicans have insisted that Obamacare subsidies be addressed only after the government reopens, offering a separate vote on the issue—which Democrats are also expected to reject.
Democrats called on President Donald Trump to negotiate directly on the expiring subsidies and dismissed comments from House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., who said he could not promise a vote in the House.
“I can tell you that Mike Johnson is only going to do what one person tells him, and that one person is Donald Trump, who has declared himself basically the Speaker of the House,” Sen. Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., said.
Republicans hope Democrats will accept their proposal, which pairs the CR with three spending bills to jump-start government funding.
“I think the clear path forward here with regard to the [Obamacare] issue, open up the government, and we head down to the White House and sit down with the president and talk about it,” Thune said. “But I just, right now there is hostage taking, as you all know. The consequences are getting more pronounced.”
Lawmakers are also weighing whether the Senate will remain in session over the weekend before a scheduled Veterans Day recess. Democrats appear willing to stay, while Republicans are reluctant unless real progress emerges. “I do expect to be here this weekend,” Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., said.
