Republicans swat down Democratic offer to end shutdown as impasse
continues into 38th day
[November 08, 2025]
By MARY CLARE JALONICK and KEVIN FREKING
WASHINGTON (AP) — Senate Majority Leader John Thune quickly swatted down
a Democratic offer to reopen the government and extend expiring health
care subsidies for a year, calling it a “nonstarter” as the partisan
impasse over the shutdown continued into its 38th day.
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer made the offer to reopen the
government on Friday as Republicans have refused to negotiate on demands
to extend health care subsidies. It was a much narrowed version of a
broad proposal Democrats laid out a month ago to make the health tax
credits permanent and reverse Medicaid cuts that Republicans enacted
earlier this year.
Schumer offered Republicans simultaneous votes to end the government
shutdown and extend the expiring health care subsidies, along with a
bipartisan committee to address Republican demands for changes to the
Affordable Care Act.
“All Republicans have to do is say yes,” Schumer said.
But Republicans quickly said no, and Thune reiterated that they would
not trade offers on health care until the government is reopened.
“That’s what we’re going to negotiate once the government opens up,”
Thune said after Schumer made his proposal on the floor.
Thune said he thinks the offer is an indication that Democrats are
“feeling the heat."
“I guess you could characterize that as progress,” he said. "But I just
don’t think it gets anywhere close to what we need to do here.”
Republicans met Friday afternoon with no resolution about steps forward.
“We’re back to square one,” said Sen. John Kennedy, adding that he could
not predict when the shutdown will end.
Despite the stalemate, lawmakers in both parties were feeling increased
urgency to reopen the government as airlines were forced to cut more
than 1,000 flights, government workers remained unpaid and food aid was
delayed for millions of people. Thune pleaded with Democrats as he
opened the Senate on Friday to “end these weeks of misery.”
It was unclear what may happen next. Thune was keeping the Senate in
session over the weekend as a group of moderate Democrats worked on a
possible compromise proposal. President Donald Trump called on the
Senate to stay in town “until they have a Deal to end the Democrat
Shutdown.”
Moderates continue to negotiate
As leaders of the two parties disagreed, the small group of Democrats
led by New Hampshire Sen. Jeanne Shaheen continued to negotiate among
themselves and with rank-and-file Republicans on a deal that would end
the shutdown.
The group has been discussing for weeks a vote for a series of bills
that would pay for parts of government — food aid, veterans programs and
the legislative branch, among other things — and extend funding for
everything else until December or January. The three annual spending
bills that would likely be included are the product of bipartisan
negotiations that have continued through the shutdown.
But the contours of that agreement would only come with the promise of a
future health care vote, rather than a guarantee that Affordable Care
Act subsidies are extended by the end of the year. Many Democrats have
said that’s unacceptable.
Still, Republican leaders only need five additional votes to fund the
government, and the group involved in the talks has ranged from 10 to 12
Democratic senators.
“Unfortunately the Republicans made it very clear that they were not
going to go along with the offer that Senator Schumer put on the floor,
so we need another path forward,” Shaheen said Friday evening as she
left a meeting with the other moderates. “We're working on it.”
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Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., a member of the Senate Appropriations
Committee, is surrounded by congressional reporters looking for
updates on a plan to end the 38 day government shutdown, at the
Capitol in Washington, Friday, Nov. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/J. Scott
Applewhite)
Republicans eye new package of bills
Trump urged Republicans at a White House breakfast Wednesday to end
the shutdown quickly and scrap the legislative filibuster, which
requires 60 Senate votes for most legislation, so they can bypass
Democrats altogether.
“I am totally in favor of terminating the filibuster, and we would
be back to work within 10 minutes after that vote took place,” Trump
said Friday.
Republicans have emphatically rejected Trump’s call, and Thune has
instead been eyeing a bipartisan package that mirrors the proposal
the moderate Democrats have been sketching out. But it unclear what
Thune, who has refused to negotiate, would promise on health care.
The package would replace the House-passed legislation that the
Democrats have now rejected fourteen times. That bill would only
extend government funding until Nov. 21, a date that is rapidly
approaching after six weeks of inaction.
A choice for Democrats
A test vote on new legislation could come in the next few days if
Thune decides to move forward.
Then Democrats would have a crucial choice to make: Do they keep
fighting for a meaningful deal on extending the subsidies that
expire in January, while prolonging the pain of the shutdown? Or do
they vote to reopen the government and hope for the best as
Republicans promise an eventual health care vote, but not a
guaranteed outcome?
After a caucus meeting Thursday, most Democrats suggested they would
continue to hold out for Trump and Republican leaders to agree to
negotiations.
“That’s what leaders do,” said Sen. Ben Ray Lujan, D-N.M. “You have
the gavel, you have the majority, you have to bring people
together.”
Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, said Democrats are “obviously not
unanimous” but “without something on health care, the vote is very
unlikely to succeed.”
Johnson delivers setback to bipartisan talks
Democrats are facing pressure from unions eager for the shutdown to
end and from allied groups that want them to hold firm. Many
Democrats have argued that the wins for Democrats on Election Day
show voters want them to continue the fight until Republicans yield
and agree to extend the health tax credits.
A vote on the health care subsidies “has got to mean something,”
said Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, an independent who caucuses with
the Democrats. “That means a commitment by the speaker of the House,
that he will support the legislation, that the president will sign.”
But Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., made clear he will not make any
commitments. “I’m not promising anybody anything,” Johnson said
Thursday when asked if he could promise a vote on a health care
bill.
___
Associated Press writers Seung Min Kim, Kevin Freking, Joey
Cappelletti, Stephen Groves and Lisa Mascaro contributed to this
report.
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