As anticipated, the Senate was unable to approve the GOP plan to sustain government funding, nor any Democratic alternatives, edging the government closer to a shutdown at midnight.
The day’s voting was significant, as neither party made any substantial efforts to avert the impending closure.
Typically, in the hours leading up to a shutdown, Capitol Hill is bustling with lawmakers and their aides negotiating potential resolutions. However, following a White House meeting between President Trump and Congressional leaders on Monday, Tuesday was more about expressing concerns and uncertainty regarding the length of the possible shutdown.
Sen. Tom Tillis (R-N.C.) mentioned that the shutdown could extend “more than a week or so.”
“We’re completely apart. Today we’re not closer than a month ago,” he stated.
A funding bill required 60 Senate votes to pass. The GOP’s proposal, approved in September, aimed to fund the government until November 21 and garnered three Democratic votes.
The Democratic alternative, which needed House approval to reach Trump’s desk, fell short with a 47-53 vote.
Senators indicated that staff would be working until Friday and through the weekend, hoping to stage back-to-back votes to reopen the government, as the messaging surrounding this situation seemed to put the focus on which party was responsible for the shutdown.
With the closure dragging on for several days, the likelihood of genuine negotiations between Republican and Democratic leaders seems slim.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) stated Tuesday that he wouldn’t negotiate with Democrats on their funding requests until they agreed to reopen the government.
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) warned that Democrats might continue to halt federal operations indefinitely unless Republicans agreed to address rising health insurance premiums and enhance subsidies under the Affordable Care Act.
Senate Republicans intend to repeatedly push for votes on a 24-page House bill aimed at funding the government until November 21, despite Senate Democrats having rejected it in a party-line vote on Tuesday.
Thune argued that the House’s Stop Gap Funding Bill is the only viable legislative option to restore government operations before next week as Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) is anticipated to reorganize the House by Tuesday.
He dismissed the notion of bringing House members back to Capitol Hill for another funding vote.
“I don’t know what a House they haven’t done yet can do,” he remarked, adding that the previously passed seven-week resolution was “sitting in the Senate” and ready to be signed into law by the president.
He urged Democrats to clarify why the government was in shutdown.
Thune has ruled out the possibility of negotiating with Schumer on an alternative bill to reopen the government, saying, “Negotiations happen when the government opens,” during a conversation with reporters Tuesday.
Schumer mentioned he would consider voting to reopen the government if Trump instructed Thune and Johnson to accept terms to expand health premium subsidies and curb the White House’s influence on Congressional spending.
When asked how long Democrats would remain “offended” by the shutdown, Schumer insisted that Democratic senators would maintain their position until Republican leaders came to the table.
“Look, it’s their court that settles it, and that’s their closure,” Schumer said, addressing his GOP counterpart. “They will face incredible pressure from the Americans.”
Schumer recounted his conversation with Trump during the Monday meeting, noting the Republicans’ control over both Congress and the White House.
A recent NPR/PBS News/Marist poll of 1,477 adults nationwide showed that Republicans might be perceived as taking on more responsibility during the shutdown, with 38% of respondents attributing blame to them versus 27% who placed more blame on Democrats.
Yet, there are favorable polls for Republicans to reference. A New York Times/Siena poll of 1,313 registered voters found that 65% believed Democrats should refrain from shutting down the government, even if their demands were unmet. This survey was conducted between September 22 and 27.
Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) expressed that many Republicans view Democratic demands as unrealistic, leaving lawmakers without any clear path to resume government operations.
“We’re not going to agree to their demands – $1.5 trillion. So, is my friend Senator Schumer going to open the government?” Kennedy questioned on the floor.
An anonymous Republican senator mentioned that a small group of centrists had discussed potential compromises behind the scenes, but only a handful seemed willing to diverge from party leadership in their negotiations.
The senator explained, “The numbers are very small because they say that our leaders give us time to prove they can’t,” highlighting how party members are providing their leaders with guidance on handling shutdowns.
“It’s not enough on either side,” the senator remarked regarding the potential passage of government funding measures.
A proposal to reopen the government would require 60 votes, with Republicans holding just 53 seats, likely needing at least eight Democratic votes to move forward, especially with fiscal conservative Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) regularly opposing short-term funding.
Some Democrats worry about the potential duration of the shutdown and how the Trump administration might use it to justify firing thousands of federal workers and cutting programs not aligned with the president’s priorities.
Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.), who supported the House GOP funding measure, stated that a prolonged shutdown could provide Russell with an opportunity to implement Project 2025, a contentious conservative plan aimed at overhauling the federal government.
“The president has a lot of levers that we can pull, which is something we can pull, so why do we pull that lever?” he pondered.
“I think that would be ideal for Project 2025,” he added.
Trump upped the ante on Tuesday by warning of “irreversible behavior” that would significantly hinder Democratic priorities.
“We can do things that are irreversible during the closure and are cruelly irreversible for them. Just like cutting out a huge number of people, cutting out what we like, cutting out the programs we like,” Trump told reporters at the White House.
