Senate Republicans Decline Democratic Proposal to Reopen the Government

A proposal by Senate Democrats to reopen the U.S. government by including a one-year extension of expiring Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies in a temporary funding bill was rejected by Senate Republicans, who called it a “non-starter.” The federal government has been shut down since October 1, 2025, marking the longest shutdown in U.S. history. The Democratic plan included a clean extension of the health care tax credits and the formation of a bipartisan committee to negotiate a longer-term solution once the government reopens.

Republicans have insisted that any policy discussions, including those on health care, take place only after passing a clean funding bill to end the shutdown. The disagreement over ACA subsidies, which are set to expire in December and could lead to higher premiums in 2026, has contributed to repeated failed funding votes and continued gridlock. Bipartisan discussions among moderate senators are ongoing, but no resolution has been reached.

Article dated 01 October below:

Congressional leaders were no closer on Wednesday to breaking the spending deadlock that had plunged the government into a shutdown, with neither party showing signs of bowing to the other’s demands as the White House ratcheted up pressure on Democrats.

Hours after Republicans and Democrats each blocked the other’s stopgap spending proposal in back-to-back Senate votes on Tuesday night, Republican leaders forced another pair of votes on Wednesday morning with identical results.

The G.O.P. plan, which would extend funding through Nov. 21, failed again on a 55-to-45 vote, short of the 60 votes needed for passage.

The Democratic plan, which ties a short-term government funding bill to extending expiring health care subsidies and restoring Medicaid cuts enacted over the summer as part of President Trump’s marquee tax cut and domestic policy law, failed on a 47-to-53 vote.

The “Groundhog Day” nature of the votes reflected just how dug in both Republicans and Democrats are in the current funding dispute. No senators changed their votes from the night before.

Two Democrats — Senators John Fetterman of Pennsylvania and Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada — voted with Republicans to approve the House-passed stopgap bill. So did Senator Angus King, an independent from Maine who caucuses with Democrats. Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky was the lone Republican to oppose his party’s bill.

By Wednesday morning, it was clear that the White House was prepared to play hardball against Democrats in efforts to maximize its leverage in the shutdown stalemate.

Russell T. Vought, the director of the White House budget office, announced that the administration had halted about $18 billion in infrastructure projects in New York City — represented by the two Democratic leaders, Senator Charles Schumer and Representative Hakeem Jeffries.

Mr. Vought said on social media that the projects had been “put on hold to ensure funding is not flowing based on unconstitutional DEI principles” and cited the Hudson River tunnel project and the Second Avenue Subway.

At the Capitol, Republicans indicated that they would try to ratchet up pressure on Democrats to back their spending bill. Senators were set to take off Thursday for Yom Kippur, but G.O.P. leaders said to expect a series of votes over the weekend.

Speaking outside the Capitol on Wednesday morning, Senator John Thune, Republican of South Dakota and the majority leader, reiterated that he was not interested in pairing negotiations on health care policy with government funding.

“Everybody’s now asking the question, ‘How does this end?’” Mr. Thune said. “It ends when Senate Democrats pick this bill up, passed by the House of Representatives, and vote for it.”

Around the same time, Mr. Schumer declared that he was sticking to his demand that Republicans negotiate with his party on health care.

That appeared to be a remote prospect.

In an afternoon conference call with House Republicans, Mr. Vought told members that the reduction-in-force plans he had threatened last week, to lay off federal workers during a shutdown, would go into effect in the next day or two, according to a member on the call.

He also discussed with them the possibility of passing a bill to get the troops paid, and he framed the shutdown as an opportunity for the administration to clean out excess bureaucrats, the member said, especially when it came to programs that do not align with President Trump’s agenda.

Shortly after the call, Mr. Vought announced that he was also canceling $8 billion in “Green New Scam funding to fuel the Left’s climate agenda” in more than a dozen states, all of which are governed by Democrats.

“I’m sure that Russ Vought is heartbroken about the fact that he’s unable to give certain things to certain constituencies,” Vice President JD Vance said archly at a press briefing at the White House on Wednesday afternoon.

“These mafioso tactics will not work,” she said.

[Source: New York Times]