Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) told reporters on Saturday that senators would remain in session until an agreement is reached to reopen the government as the shutdown reached its 39th day and members are still far from an agreement.
Asked whether lawmakers would remain in the city until an agreement was reached, Thune responded in the affirmative. The upper house was supposed to leave Washington for recess around Veterans Day, but will be in session instead.
Thune spoke as the Senate convened for a rare session on Saturday after several twists and turns on the path to a deal on Friday.
democrat on friday One year extension proposed Enhanced health care subsidies that are set to expire at the end of December with a clean continuing resolution and a three-bill package of full-year spending bills, known as the “minibus.”
republican immediately rejected that offerA bipartisan group of lawmakers continued discussions throughout the night. Thune said the immediate goal is to hold and release the text of the minibus, with a vote on it expected sometime later this week.
Thune said the bipartisan talks overnight had been “positive.”
“The question is whether we can have everything ready to go,” Thune said, noting that he is in discussions with appropriators about the minibus text. “We’re getting closer to getting it ready. Ideally, it would be great to have it set up so we can vote today, but we have to have the votes to actually pass it.”
“I don’t have anything for you in terms of a definite time frame except to say that the text has to be taken out and then we have to hope that we have the necessary votes,” he said.
The GOP leader also declined to say when the proposed short-term continuing resolution would be completed. Senator Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) told reporters that the conference reached a consensus around the January 30 expiration date.
Ahead of Democratic pressure toward a deal featuring a one-year tax credit extension, negotiators were discussing the outlines of a deal centered around a new continuing resolution, an enclosed minibus and a vote on a bill to extend the tax credit. Thune has been adamant that he can guarantee Democrats a “process”, but not an “outcome”, including passing the tax credit extension.
