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WASHINGTON (AP) — Bipartisan talks to reopen the government intensified Thursday as lawmakers from both parties felt a growing urgency to alleviate a growing airport crisis, pay government workers and restore overdue food aid to millions of people. But a solution still seems far-fetched amid internal disagreements in both parties over the best way to end the closure, which has entered its thirty-seventh day.
The Senate is expected to meet at 10 a.m. EST. Watch the live stream in our video player above.
Senate Democrats, who have so far voted 14 times not to reopen the government, met again on Thursday. Moderates are pushing a plan to pass a package of spending bills now and accept Republicans’ offer to hold a vote later on extending health care subsidies that expire on January 1.
But others in the Democratic caucus strongly oppose that framework, arguing that Democrats’ strong results in Tuesday’s election show that voters want them to keep fighting until Republicans give in and agree to extend the health tax credits, as they have demanded from the beginning.
Read more: What is the filibuster and why does Trump want to get rid of it during the shutdown?
Sen. Bernie Sanders, an independent who caucuses with Democrats, said Wednesday that a vote on health care subsidies “has to mean something.” “This means a commitment from the Speaker of the House that he will support the legislation that the President will sign.”
But House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-Los Angeles, made clear Thursday morning that he has no plans to support any compromise bill on health tax credits or even commit to a vote. Many Republicans in his conference will strongly oppose an extension.
Asked whether the House of Representatives would guarantee a vote on extending health care support if the Senate reached an agreement, Johnson said on Thursday: “I’m not promising anyone anything.”
Johnson’s clear refusal was a setback for the negotiators. Michigan Sen. Gary Peters, one of the moderate Democrats involved in the negotiations, said his comments were “a big problem.”
“We have to make sure we reach an agreement that we can get broad support for,” Peters said.
As the talks continue, the toll of the closure deepens. The Federal Aviation Administration on Wednesday announced plans to reduce air traffic by 10% across 40 high-volume markets starting Friday to maintain safety amid staffing shortages. Millions of people have already been affected by halted government programs and lost federal paychecks — with more expected as another round of payroll payments approaches next week.
Read more: The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) plans to reduce air traffic by 10% at dozens of busy airports during the closure
Trump puts pressure on Republicans and gives Democrats optimism
President Donald Trump has increased pressure on Senate Republicans to end the shutdown — now the longest in US history — calling it a “huge negative factor” in the GOP’s poor performance across the country. Democrats saw Trump’s comments as a reason to stand firm, believing that his participation in the talks could lead to an agreement on extending health care subsidies.
Trump has been increasingly focused on pushing Republicans to eliminate the Senate filibuster to speed up reopening — a move that several GOP senators, including Senate Majority Leader John Thune, flatly reject. Trump continued the pressure in a video on Wednesday, saying the Senate’s 60-vote threshold to pass legislation should be “ended.”
Thune said Thursday morning that the next step depends on Democrats’ response to the offer on the table. He said staying in session over the weekend was possible if progress was made.
“It’s in their court. It’s up to them,” Thune said.
But Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer insisted on this, saying that voters “launched a political torpedo at Trump and the Republicans” in Tuesday’s elections.
“Clearly, Donald Trump is feeling pressure to end this shutdown,” Schumer said on the Senate floor. “Well, I have good news for the president: Get together with the Democrats, and reopen the government.”
He watches: Democrats dominate in the first elections since Trump returned to the White House
Closed negotiations became more public
Democrats and Republicans insisted they were making steady progress on reaching an agreement. In a new development on Thursday, Republicans suggested they might be open to including language in a final agreement that would reverse some of the mass firings of government employees by the White House, according to two people familiar with the private conversations who granted anonymity to discuss them.
Senate Appropriations Committee Chair Susan Collins, a moderate Republican who has been speaking with Democrats, says she wants furloughed workers to be paid, and for workers laid off during the shutdown to be “recalled.”
“We are still negotiating that language,” she said.
Senators from both parties, especially members of the powerful Appropriations Committee, are seeking to ensure that the normal government funding process in Congress can get back on track. Among the goals is to ensure votes come in on a smaller package of bills to fund various aspects of government, such as agricultural programs and military construction projects at bases.
Even more puzzling is whether they can resolve the standoff over funding for Affordable Care Act subsidies. Some Republicans support extending the benefits, with some changes.
Below, watch Johnson and other House GOP leaders hold a press conference about the shutdown.
Democrats were divided after their election victory
Senate Democrats face pressure of their own, both from unions eager to end the shutdown and from allied groups that want them to hold out. Many see Democrats’ decisive victories in Virginia and New Jersey as confirmation of their strategy of keeping the government closed until expiring health care subsidies are processed.
“It would be very strange if the American people stepped in to support the Democrats who are fighting for them, and within days we surrender without achieving any of the things we were fighting for,” said Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn.
Schumer has not yet weighed in, but he has repeatedly called on Trump to sit down with Democrats. But it seems unlikely that will happen.
Republicans only need five Democrats to vote with them, even if the Democratic caucus can’t agree. Although that has not happened yet, some of them are becoming increasingly clear that they are ready to find a solution.
“I don’t feel like the election has changed where I was,” said Sen. John Hickenlooper, D-Colo. “I still feel like I want to come out of lockdown.”
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