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The Senate is expected to vote later today on the House-passed government reopening measure to amend the legislation to include three full-year appropriations measures as part of a proposal that emerged from bipartisan negotiations in recent days to end the shutdown. But the GOP plan still faces hurdles and may not win enough support from Democrats to move forward on Friday.
While moderates involved in the bipartisan talks appeared optimistic about the prospects of reaching an agreement earlier this week that would also include a vote at a certain date on extending health insurance tax breaks, conversations appeared to stall Thursday as Democrats met behind closed doors in a caucus meeting.
While some moderates were eager to find a solution to reopening the government, others in the caucus appeared buoyed by the party's victory in key races in Tuesday's elections, eager to hold out longer in the fight over the shutdown in an attempt to meet their health care demands. And House Speaker Mike Johnson's refusal to commit to a vote Thursday on extending the health insurance tax cut was a blow to Democrats who appeared enthusiastic about the proposal.
The planned vote on Friday, which has not yet been called, would require 60 votes to advance, meaning Republicans need at least five more Democrats to pass. Three senators repeatedly broke with their party and voted to advance the House measure. Republicans are hoping moderate Democrats, who have been negotiating all week, will vote to at least advance the bill, expecting it to be amended to include some long-term funding.
At the Capitol, Thune commented on his expectations for Friday.
“I always hope and expect that we will have enough Democrats to carry on, but I don’t know, we’ll see,” the South Dakota Republican said. “They seem to be going backwards or going slowly, and that’s what they asked for.”
