Overview
- Senate Majority Leader John Thune said he is optimistic the chamber could produce an off‑ramp this week, cautioning that visible progress by midweek is needed to finish.
- Republicans are preparing a continuing resolution that pushes the deadline into December or January, with Susan Collins favoring Dec. 19 and conservatives eyeing Jan. 15, and the House would need to reconvene to vote.
- Democrats are divided as some centrists explore a deal while others demand concrete action to extend enhanced ACA premium tax credits before reopening, and any bill must clear a 60‑vote filibuster.
- President Donald Trump reiterated he will not negotiate on health‑insurance subsidies during the shutdown and renewed calls to scrap the filibuster, a move GOP leaders have resisted.
- The closure has tied the 35‑day record, with USDA issuing only 50% of usual SNAP benefits, federal workers unpaid, and flight delays mounting, and it will set a new mark if it stretches beyond today.