WASHINGTON — The Senate is considering working over the weekend as lawmakers from both parties scramble for a deal to reopen the government and advance a number of full-year spending bills, sources familiar with the schedule told the Deseret News.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., will tee up a vote on the House-passed spending resolution on Friday morning, marking the 15th time the Republican framework will come to the floor. If passed, Thune plans to amend the legislation with a later date, likely into January, and attach a three-bill minibus advancing full-year spending bills for a slate of federal agencies.
The vote will still require at least eight Democrats to cross party lines to succeed, which they have not done on the last 14 attempts. But this time, Thune hopes to secure a deal with Democrats to hold a separate vote on extending certain Obamacare subsidies — satisfying the minority party’s main demand throughout the seven-week shutdown.
Democrats not yet convinced to budge
The plans come after Democrats held another hourslong lunch meeting on Thursday afternoon to discuss a path forward, with several attendees emerging tight-lipped about details.
Several rank-and-file Democrats have begun to grow restless as the record-long shutdown entered its 37th day. That includes those, such as Sen. John Fetterman, D-Penn., who have already backed the Republican-led resolution and have become impatient with the pace of negotiations.
“I don’t see any votes changing at this point,” Fetterman said on Thursday. “What’s curious, though, SNAP really never came up. I mean, that’s really important to me. That’s been my primary concern. I just don’t want a food bank Thanksgiving.”
Some Democratic holdouts appeared unmoved after the lunch, emboldened by election results on Tuesday that resulted in big wins for the party in a number of blue state races. Those wins, they argue, prove Democrats are on the winning side.
“I think that this is a conversation that is still ongoing,” Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., who has repeatedly urged Democrats not to let up on their demands, said after the meeting. “It was a caucus in which we were trying to organically come to a conclusion. And I think that process is still happening.”
It’s possible Democrats continue to dig in their heels without substantial concessions from their Republican colleagues — noting that discussions within the party are “ongoing.” Others say they want to see a final deal in ink before voting to move forward.
“At this point, Democrats are looking for the details,” Sen. Ron Wyden, top Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, said on Thursday. “In the old days, we make sure you write them into black letter law. That’s what we do when we write bills. We haven’t seen that yet.”
Others remain adamant Democrats cannot back down.
“What the polling showed is people are becoming extremely disgruntled with Trumpism and its attack on healthcare,” Sen. Bernie Sanders, who caucuses with Democrats, told reporters. “Democrats cannot cave. Healthcare has got to be dealt with in any resolution that we have.”
Democrats confident in progress
Still, several Democrats leaving the meeting said they were optimistic they were “getting close” to a solution.
“I feel good. We had a really good meeting in the caucus,” Sen. Gary Peters, a moderate who has been deeply involved with bipartisan negotiations, told reporters. “I think folks are unified around a number of things, and I feel good about that.”
Peters confirmed that he expects to stay in session throughout the weekend, although those plans are fluid if the spending resolution fails on Friday.
Meanwhile, a group of freshman Senate Democrats have begun making contact with Republican members of the House as they look to secure a deal on the Affordable Care Act tax credits.
Sens. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., and Angela Alsobrooks, D-Md., said they have spoken to members of both parties in the lower chamber, although declined to share details of the personal conversations.
“We’ve been talking to them,” Slotkin said. “We’ve been burning up the text chains, and that’s part of the process.”
Those conversations come as House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., appeared to close the door to guaranteeing a vote on Obamacare subsidies in the House — contradicting a major promise made by Thune that could threaten Democratic support in the Senate.
“I’m not part of the negotiation,” Johnson told reporters on Thursday. “I’m not promising anybody anything. I’m gonna let this process play out.”
Peters and other key negotiators called Johnson’s refusal a “significant problem.” But some Democrats appeared to downplay Johnson’s significance to the negotiations.
“It’s really not up to Mr. Johnson,” Slotkin said. “I think he’s made himself an empty suit, and it’s really up to Donald Trump. He’s the decider. He’s the decision maker. He’s the Art of the Deal Guy. I think we need his nod on whatever happens.”
Details of any shutdown deal are not yet finalized, and several Democrats inside Thursday’s lunch declined to share details.
However, Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., told reporters on Thursday there is momentum that Republicans may also be open to reversing some of the federal layoffs, known as reductions in force, as part of a shutdown deal.
The Trump administration laid off thousands of government workers last month, using a loophole that the administration says opened up after the shutdown was in place.