WASHINGTON — Senators are continuing private talks to determine an exit ramp more than two weeks into the government shutdown, but so far Democrats aren’t biting — with many saying they don’t trust Republicans to hold up their end of any deal.
Senate Republicans are considering an array of options to offer their Democratic counterparts, although no plan has been finalized nor do any appear to have the support needed to pass. But it shows that lawmakers are growing restless with the federal shutdown that so far, 16 days in, seems like will never end.
One plan being floated Thursday by Republican leadership is to offer Democrats a vote on a one-year extension of certain Obamacare subsidies that are set to expire at the end of this year. This has been Democrats’ main demand in the shutdown fight, although party leaders have said they won’t settle for anything less than a permanent extension.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., told MSNBC on Thursday he would offer Democrats a vote on a one-year extension to buy negotiators more time to reform or extend the health care program. In exchange, Democrats must vote on the Republican spending deal to reopen the government.
“I can’t guarantee it’s going to pass,” Thune said. “I can guarantee you that there will be a process and you will get a vote.”
But Democrats have rejected that plan, according to House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., who sidestepped questions on whether he would bring that one-year extension to the House floor if it passed the Senate. Democrats’ objection was because “they wanted a guaranteed outcome,” according to Johnson.
Schumer pushed back against those characterizations, telling reporters on Thursday that Thune has not approached him with any sort of deal.
“We’re not negotiating in public, plain and simple,” Schumer said. “Leader Thune has not come to me with any proposal at this point.”
Even if Republicans did move forward with that plan, it’s not clear whether Democrats would be willing to vote for the one-year extension.
“We simply cannot trust Republicans to renew it every year,” Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., told the Deseret News. “Maybe there are other incentives that can be offered that would persuade me that a one-year extension is OK.”
But, he added, “never say never.”
Meanwhile, Democrats tanked another potential off-ramp posed by Republicans on Thursday when they rejected a procedural vote to advance the full-year appropriations bill for the Defense Department.
Several Democrats indicated they wouldn’t support the legislation without knowing the details of what Republicans planned to add later. By advancing the House bill, Senate Republicans planned to use it as a legislative vehicle to replace the language with their own version of the defense spending bill — and possibly tie in three other spending bills also awaiting a vote in the Senate.
By doing so, it would create a “minibus” of sorts that would allow the Senate to consider multiple spending bills at once they can then negotiate with the House.
But Democrats have claimed they have been excluded from negotiations up until this point and that they won’t advance a bill without knowing what policies would be attached. Meanwhile, Republicans contend there’s no way to confirm that unless they advance the bill to debate — meaning Democrats would first need to vote to advance the bill in order to find out.
“We have always negotiated these appropriation agreements in a bipartisan way,” Schumer said. “Once again, they’re just going at it alone.”
That vote failed in the Senate on Thursday in a 50-44 vote.
The lack of cooperation has frustrated Thune, who said Democrats are merely refusing to accept any compromise. Instead, he accused Democrats of using the shutdown to score political points.
“The Democrat Party is the party that will not take yes for an answer,” Thune said in a floor speech on Thursday. “This is politics. If anything was needed to demonstrate just how fundamentally uninterested Democrats are in supporting our troops and defending our country, just take a look at this vote.”
The Senate adjourned for the weekend and is not expected to return until Monday evening. By then, the shutdown will have lasted for 20 days.
