Overview
- On day 38 of the shutdown, Senate Democrats unveiled their first public plan pairing a clean stopgap with a one-year extension of Affordable Care Act tax credits and a bipartisan committee on reforms.
- Senate Majority Leader John Thune called the proposal a non-starter as Republicans maintain the government must reopen before negotiating on the ACA subsidies.
- The Senate prepared a vote on a Ron Johnson bill to pay federal workers during the shutdown, which Democrats signaled they would block as they press for a binding subsidy extension.
- Democrats have repeatedly opposed the GOP-backed continuing resolution, with reports noting 14 failed attempts to advance it in the Senate’s 60-vote chamber.
- President Donald Trump urged ending the filibuster to pass funding with a simple majority, but Thune said Republicans lack the votes to change Senate rules.