Talks to end US shutdown look promising
Bipartisan talks in the U.S. Senate on ending the federal shutdown took a positive turn as lawmakers worked on agreements to temporarily reopen the government and introduce three long-term funding bills for some agencies.
When reporters asked Senate Majority Leader John Thune if bipartisan talks over the past 24 hours were positive, he responded, “Yes, I would say so.”
Saturday marked the 39th day of a federal shutdown that laid off many federal workers and affected food aid, air travel and national parks.
After weeks of faltering talks, Republicans and Democrats in the U.S. Senate appear to be negotiating in earnest later this week.
Lawmakers were hoping to release the full text of three fiscal 2026 full-year funding measures for agriculture, food and nutrition programs on Saturday, as well as funding for military construction projects, veterans programs and running Congress, according to Republican senators.
The proposals would fund these operations through September 30, 2026.
Meanwhile, senators are working on a stopgap measure that would give them more time to reach agreement on nine remaining “optional” spending bills for the rest of the federal government, such as homeland security, defense, housing and healthcare.
North Dakota Republican Sen. John Hoeven told reporters that the short-term funding, which expires Nov. 21, would be updated with new legislation to reopen the government and maintain funding through the end of January.
Thune said it “would be great” if the votes were held on Saturday, but did not commit to a specific timeline.
“We’ll see how the day goes as we get a chance to solidify people’s views,” he said.
Despite Thune’s upbeat speech, Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer on Saturday attacked the Trump administration for halting SNAP food stamp funding and accused him of playing “politics” by reducing airline flights at certain airports.
Schumer on the Senate floor complained that Republicans on Friday were “rushing out of the gate” to reject Democrats’ call for a one-year extension of the expiring health insurance subsidy as part of legislation to reopen the government.
“Donald Trump is literally fighting in court to make sure Americans starve to death. HE DON’T CARE ABOUT YOU,” echoed California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a potential 2028 presidential candidate.
The support of at least eight Democrats is likely needed to break the shutdown gridlock.
Thune did not say how Republicans would meet Democrats’ demands to expand subsidies in the Affordable Care Act’s health insurance marketplaces used by 24 million people.
Thune said President Donald Trump “wants to find a solution to the health crisis in this country where premiums are skyrocketing.”
But Republicans have said they won’t negotiate on health insurance subsidies until the shutdown is over.
Trump on Saturday called on Republican senators to redirect federal money used to subsidize health insurance under the Affordable Care Act into direct payments to individuals.
While some Republican senators have voiced their support, Democrats have remained largely silent so far.
“I propose to Senate Republicans that the Hundreds of Billions of Dollars currently sent to money sucking Insurance Companies to bail out the poor Healthcare provided by ObamaCare be SENT DIRECTLY TO THE PEOPLE, SO THEY CAN BUY MUCH BETTER HEALTH CARE, and have the money left over,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, without elaborating.
ACA marketplaces allow people to purchase policies directly from health insurers and primarily serve people who do not have coverage through employers or the Medicare and Medicaid government programs.
Trump’s comments came hours before the US Senate reconvened at noon after Friday’s rejection of legislation that would have restarted paychecks for hundreds of thousands of federal workers during the longest government shutdown in US history.
with AP
