Republicans set to reject Democrats’ proposal to end longest shutdown in US history | US federal government shutdown 2025

Republicans are poised to reject a proposal Friday by Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer that would end the longest government shutdown in U.S. history by offering Republicans a deal to reauthorize funding in exchange for a one-year extension of Affordable Care Act (ACA) tax credits that lower the costs of health plans.

“Democrats are ready to pave the way to quickly pass a government funding bill that includes health care affordability,” Schumer said on the Senate floor. “Leader Thune needs to include a clean, one-year extension of the ACA tax credits in the CR so we can immediately cover rising health care costs.”

He also proposed “a bipartisan committee to continue negotiations after the government reopens on reforms ahead of next year’s enrollment period to provide long-term certainty that health care costs will be more affordable.”

“The ball is now in the Republicans’ court. We just need Republicans to say yes,” Schumer said.

Senate majority leader John Thune appears unimpressed by the proposal, and his spokesman Ryan Wrasse reiterated his demand for the government to be reopened before the tax credit issue is discussed.

“Extending COVID premiums is a negotiation, something that can only happen after the government reopens. Release the hostage. End the suffering,” Wrasse said.

Any compromise must also be approved by the House of Representatives, which Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson has kept in recess since Sept. 19. This means the 38-day shutdown won’t end immediately.

Democrats made the proposal at a time when Americans are facing unprecedented cuts that they attribute to Donald Trump’s funding cuts that began Oct. 1.

The Trump administration attempted to pause payments under the government’s food aid program for the first time in its history, but was blocked by a court order. The Federal Aviation Administration also cut commercial air travel, saying controllers working without pay for weeks had weakened capacity. Nearly 800 U.S. connecting flights were canceled as of Friday morning, according to tracking site FlightAware.

Although Republicans control both houses of Congress, any spending legislation needs at least bipartisan support to clear the 60-vote threshold to advance in the Senate. Senate majority leader John Thune tried 14 times to get Democrats to support a House-approved bill that would continue funding through Nov. 21, but only three minority lawmakers voted for it.

Thune planned to cast the 15th ballot on Friday. “We’re going to give them a chance to vote later today on paying working people,” he told Fox News, but he didn’t say whether he was talking about a bill to reopen the government or paying some federal workers who have remained on the job without pay in recent weeks.

Democrats had insisted for weeks that any funding bill would include an extension of tax credits created during Joe Biden’s presidency, which are set to expire at the end of the year. Costs for people with ACA plans are soon expected to rise by an average of 26%, the Kaiser Family Foundation found.

National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett told reporters at the White House that he expects the shutdown to cut GDP growth by about half this quarter, but most of that will be made up in the next quarter, assuming the shutdown ends and federal workers receive back pay.

Trump has publicly considered not paying for the government shutdown to federal workers, many of whom have been vilified by his administration.

Democrats’ resolve to stand strong against the Republican funding proposal was strengthened Tuesday as party candidates won year-end elections in some states; Party leaders attributed this to voters agreeing with their demands.

“Americans struggling with high costs threw a political torpedo at Donald Trump and Republicans this week,” Schumer said Thursday.

“If Republicans were smart, they would get the message after Tuesday that their do-nothing strategy isn’t working. Even Donald Trump knows Americans are blaming Republicans for this mess.”

Recent polls have shown the GOP bearing more blame for the shutdown than Democrats, and some in the party have warned that backing down on their demands now would turn off newly energized voters.

“I think there would be pretty significant damage to a well-restored Democratic brand if we surrendered with nothing, immediately stopped fighting, right after an election where the public told us to keep fighting,” Democratic senator Chris Murphy told Punchbowl News.

Trump appeared to acknowledge that dynamic, telling senators from his party on Wednesday that the shutdown was “negative for Republicans.”

He urged them to vote to repeal the Senate filibuster, which allows the minority party to withhold most bills that do not receive 60 votes. “If the Republicans kill the Filibuster, they will sail to Victory for many years. If not, DISASTER is waiting to happen!” Trump wrote on Truth Social Friday.

Thune said lawmakers do not support doing that.