By Jackson Richman
Contributing Writer
WASHINGTON — The federal shutdown will continue through the weekend as the Senate once again rejected rival funding bills to reopen the government on Friday.
The federal government shut down at 12:01 a.m. on Wednesday after both parties failed to reach a deal to pass a short-term plan to fund the government through Nov. 21.
Days into the shutdown, Republicans and Democrats have continued to blame each other for the continuing deadlock that has shown little sign of easing.
The White House has signaled that mass layoffs are imminent and likely to number in the thousands.
Democrats have opposed the House-passed funding plan, demanding that the bill include a rollback of cuts to Medicaid due to reforms enacted in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act over the summer.
They are also demanding an extension of enhanced subsidies under the Affordable Care Act, which were introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic and are due to expire at the end of the year.
The White House and Republicans have flatly rejected these demands. They’ve said that while they were willing to negotiate on certain health care policies, they would not do so in exchange for keeping the government open.
The White House reiterated on Friday that it would not negotiate these health care demands with Democrats right now.
“Democrats must reopen the government if they want to have meaningful policy debate,” White House spokesperson Kush Desa said in an emailed statement.
On Friday, Republicans first rejected 46-52 a Democratic bill to include those provisions and fund the government through Oct. 31.
Democrats then blocked a 24-page Republican bill to fund the government through Nov. 21 that also includes security funding for the executive branch, Supreme Court justices, and members of Congress. The vote was 54-44.
In order for a bill to advance in the Senate, it must get 60 votes.
Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., voted against both bills. While Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., John Fetterman, D-Pa., and Angus King, I-Maine, joined Republicans in voting in favor of the GOP bill, they also voted for the Democratic bill.
This marks the fourth time the rival bills have failed to advance in the upper chamber.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune has said the chamber will return on Monday to consider these measures again.
While party leaders publicly dig in on their positions in the standoff, informal talks emerged among a group of moderate Senate Democrats and Republicans to find an off-ramp.
On Wednesday, several senators met on the Senate floor to discuss a one-year extension of the Affordable Care Act-enhanced premium tax credits.
“I’m glad we’re talking,” Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Ga., told reporters.
Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., told reporters that “a lot of people would really like to find a path forward.”
“But it requires, first of all, to get the government open again,” he said.
The proposal under discussion would extend funding for 45 days.
“And then we start working on the issues that divide us,” Rounds said.
Party leaders have continued to point fingers at each other for causing and prolonging the shutdown.
“Republicans have shut the government down because they don’t want to provide health care to working-class Americans,” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., told reporters on Thursday. “Republicans have shown zero interest in even having a conversation.”
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., told reporters on Friday that there’s nothing to negotiate on the funding bill because it simply extends current government funding levels.
In response to demands from Democratic Party lawmakers to extend expiring Obamacare subsidies, Johnson said it’s not an issue until the end of the year when the tax credits expire.
Republicans, he added, are currently working on reforms to fix Obamacare.
As to whether more Democrats will come on board and get the GOP bill across the finish line, Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., told reporters to stay tuned.
“[Thune] suggested next week there might be something happening,” he said.
Nathan Worcester contributed to this report.
