WASHINGTON — Top party leaders are adjusting their strategies as the federal shutdown enters its fifth week, signaling a desire among lawmakers to end the 29-day standoff while still positioning themselves in a politically advantageous position.
And it’s resulting in what appears to be a tactic swap.
Despite shooting down Republican proposals to fund certain parts of the government, including a bill last week to pay some federal workers during the shutdown, Democrats are now pushing their own bills to do the same thing — and those bills are being soundly rejected by Republicans.
Democrats sought to pass a number of funding bills through unanimous consent, a procedure that allows legislation to pass without a formal vote if there are no objections. It only requires one senator to tank the bill on the floor — a task carried out by Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., on Wednesday afternoon.
“This isn’t a political game, these are real people’s lives we’re talking about,” Thune said in a floor speech while opposing a bill to fund the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. ”And you all have just figured out, 29 days in, that ‘Oh, there might be some consequences.’”
The bill was introduced by Sen. Ben Ray Lujan, D-N.M., on Wednesday to require the Trump administration to fund SNAP as well as the USDA’s Women, Infant, and Children’s food assistance program.
The measure comes two days before federal funding is set to lapse for the welfare programs, potentially leaving more than 42 million at risk of losing food resources for the month of November. It would be the first time in history the program has run out of funding.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., announced plans to vote on the standalone bill earlier this week, seeking to place pressure on Republicans not to let the welfare program collapse.
“Ask John Thune why he won’t put it on the floor,” Schumer said in a floor speech on Wednesday. “He knows there’s broad Republican support for it, and he doesn’t put it on the floor. He’s afraid of Trump. That’s it. He knows better.”
Other Democrats have also expressed support for the measure.
“We can’t let politics starve children,” Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., said. “This bill is simple, targeted, and necessary.”
“I’m a yes on the SNAP bill,” Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., separately added. “The money exists. The need is urgent. There’s no excuse.”
That support comes in contrast to Democratic strategy just last week, when the party voted against a Republican bill to pay federal workers whose paychecks are frozen during the shutdown, citing concerns the Trump administration would unfairly exclude certain employees from those payments.
But the Republican opposition is also a reversal from last week, when Thune indicated he would put standalone bills on the floor to ensure funding for military members, welfare programs and air traffic controllers. Now, Thune is suggesting those bills would be a “cynical attempt to buy political cover for Democrats to allow them to carry on their government shutdown even longer.”
“We’re not going to let them pick winners and losers,” Thune told reporters on Wednesday. “It just begs the larger question, how long is this going to drag on?”
That change in strategy was also reflected by Vice President JD Vance, who opposed the standalone votes during a closed-door meeting with Republican senators on Wednesday.
The Senate opposition aligns with messaging from Republican leaders in the House who have remained adamant not to reconvene for individual bills until the government is reopened. The House hasn’t been in session for votes since Sept. 19.
Instead, House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., seemed prepared to use the SNAP funding and other weekend deadlines to squeeze Senate Democrats to vote in favor of the Republican funding resolution.
“On Saturday, this gets very real,” Johnson said on Wednesday. “You’re talking about tens of millions of Americans at risk of going hungry — if Senate Democrats continue this.”