Senate Majority Leader John Thune said on Thursday that it’s “unlikely” senators will be in the Capitol voting this weekend, all but guaranteeing the government shutdown goes into next week. “They’ll have a fourth chance tomorrow to vote to open up the government, and if that fails, we’ll give them the weekend to think about … Read more
Senate Majority Leader John Thune isn’t endorsing the slash-and-burn campaign White House budget director Russ Vought has planned for the federal government during the pending shutdown. But he says Democrats have no one to blame for it but themselves. “This is the risk of shutting down the government and handing the keys to Russ Vought,” … Read more
Speaker Mike Johnson moved to shut down any attempts to negotiate a way out of the shutdown Thursday as some senators look for off-ramps. Johnson said in a news conference outside his Capitol office that Democrats should stop pressing Republicans to come to any agreement to reopen the government, saying Senate Democrats instead need to … Read more
President Donald Trump said Thursday that he’ll speak with Office of Management and Budget Director Russ Vought about which ”Democrat Agencies” should be nixed as the government shutdown enters its second day. “I have a meeting today with Russ Vought, he of PROJECT 2025 Fame, to determine which of the many Democrat Agencies, most of … Read more
Bipartisan rank-and-file negotiations on expiring Obamacare subsidies are picking up steam as lawmakers hunt for a shutdown off-ramp. Republicans still say those talks won’t lead to action until the government reopens. Senate Majority Leader John Thune underscored this point in an exclusive interview Wednesday with POLITICO, where he said he needs to see a “critical … Read more
Hakeem Jeffries has spent nearly three years in relative anonymity as House minority leader. Now the New York Democrat is treating the government shutdown fight as a potential breakout moment. Shedding his reputation as a cool, careful and sometimes overly calculating leader, Jeffries has staked out a much more aggressive approach in recent weeks as … Read more
Senate Majority Leader John Thune laid out a path to end the government shutdown in an exclusive interview Wednesday, saying he is willing to discuss the shape of future health care negotiations if a “critical mass” of Democrats say they are willing to support a House-passed funding bill in return. The comments, made in his … Read more
Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin said Wednesday he was “overwhelmed” by Pope Leo XIV’s comments on his behalf, made this week after the Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago’s decision to honor the pro-abortion-rights Democrat for his immigration work sparked a backlash from conservatives. The pontiff — a Chicago-area native who has voted in elections where Durbin was … Read more
A bipartisan group of senators is already looking for a way out of the government shutdown. The talks, which played out on the Senate floor Wednesday as lawmakers again voted down dueling partisan funding bills, are still in their early stages. Multiple lawmakers involved said they aren’t close to finalizing a proposal. But the nascent … Read more
Speaker Mike Johnson and fellow Republican congressional leaders blasted Democrats on Wednesday for opposing their short-term funding stopgap and triggering the pending federal shutdown. Johnson on Wednesday echoed threats from President Donald Trump that a shutdown’s burdens would fall disproportionately on Democrats by slashing blue-state funding and potentially government “benefits.” “The longer this goes on, … Read more