Senate Democrats are set to gather Thursday afternoon for a special luncheon led by Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer to explore a potential agreement aimed at re-opening the government. However, many members of the party express that they are requiring more significant concessions from Republicans to consider supporting such a move.
This meeting at the Capitol will occur ahead of a 5 p.m. vote on a resolution proposed by Senators Tim Kaine, Rand Paul, and Adam Schiff, which seeks to prevent U.S. military action in or against Venezuela.
The timing of this late afternoon vote is intended to allow Democratic senators to assess whether they are nearing an agreement that could enable the government to reopen for the weekend.
A new compromise, seen as a potential solution, will be on the agenda for discussion at Tuesday’s caucus lunch.
According to Senate Democratic Leader Dick Durbin from Illinois, debates are lively, reflecting ongoing challenges in ending this impasse.
Durbin noted that there had been a preliminary discussion earlier this week about just the general framework of what a potential agreement might look like.
“There are many questions still unanswered,” he remarked. “If we aim to reach a viable agreement, we have a lot to accomplish today.”
On the Republican side, Senate Majority Leader John Thune indicated that the responsibility for moving forward lies with the Democrats. He implied that further concessions from Republicans are not expected in the days ahead.
Thune conveyed to the press that the Senate would only remain in session over the weekend if a clear pathway to resolve the shutdown emerges, a scenario that seems increasingly improbable.
“I believe the focus will be on determining whether we can settle things down this weekend,” Thune added. “It’s their move now.”
He has not ruled out the possibility of canceling the Senate’s upcoming Veterans Day recess, which is scheduled to start Friday for a week.
Republican senators are being instructed to keep their schedules open in case they need to assemble over the weekend—or perhaps next week—to address the government shutdown.
Thune expressed hope that the Democratic meeting would yield support from “more than 10” Democratic votes to facilitate the reopening of the government.
“They’re having a major meeting today. Hopefully, they can rally at least 10 members to agree to reopen things. We’ll see,” he stated.
Senate Republican aides mentioned that it might take up to five days to process the bipartisan plan to reopen the government, as it would require securing 60 votes on three different motions to navigate the legislative procedures, introduce alternative amendments, and conclude debate on the overall proposal.
