The US Senate failed to reopen the government on Thursday or vote to fund the military during the federal government shutdown, ensuring the standoff will drag on into next week.
The Senate vote on a short-term Republican funding bill failed for the 10th time with just 51 votes. A second vote on Pentagon funding held in the afternoon also failed in a floor vote, meaning the process to begin fully funding military operations also becomes a failure. After the votes, senators are expected to leave Washington over the weekend, all but guaranteeing that the shutdown will last at least until Monday.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune made his clearest offer yet to Democrats on Thursday morning, telling MSNBC that he would guarantee them a vote on extending Affordable Care Act subsidies — the Democratic side’s most crucial ask — on a fixed date if they agree to reopen the government. “At some point, Democrats are going to have to take yes for an answer,” Thune said.
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On Wednesday night, progressive Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez preemptively rejected that kind of promise during a 90-minute town hall on CNN, insisting they need real legislation enacted before they give in.
“I don’t accept IOUs. I don’t accept pinky promises. That’s not the business I’m in,” Ocasio-Cortez told the audience. When asked if a promise from Trump would be enough, Sanders mockingly replied: “Oh, yes, certainly, because the president is a very honest man.”
The New York congresswoman and Vermont senator rejected any short-term solution, calling it an attempt to delay political pain until after next year’s midterm elections. “What we will not accept is ACA premiums skyrocketing for the American people,” Ocasio-Cortez said.
Meanwhile, House Speaker Mike Johnson kept the chamber out of session for four weeks after Republicans passed their funding bill, and GOP leaders argued that returning to Washington would only reduce pressure on Senate Democrats. Johnson and Democratic Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries have traded barbs throughout the month and have now agreed to debate C-Span, although no date has been set.
Thune said he would support extending health care subsidies if they included reforms such as income limits, but he would not commit to a one-year extension estimated to cost $35 billion a year, acknowledging he could not guarantee an outcome. He did not rule out the possibility that the closure could last until Thanksgiving, more than a month away: “I hope it doesn’t last until Thanksgiving,” he said.
The standoff has left federal workers without pay for weeks with no end in sight. At CNN’s town hall, a worker with four children asked how he should feed his family. Another woman said her home was at risk because the shutdown had blocked her government-backed loan.
Ocasio-Cortez tried to reassure them but remained firm: “My hope is that we are ready to resolve this as quickly as possible.”