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The Senate returns to Washington this week when government shutdown is approaching a record high, and lawmakers remain steadfast in their positions.
Late Tuesday, the government shutdown will officially become the longest in history at 36 days, breaking the previous record written into the history books in early 2019. And while that record approaches, payday deadlines are missed and federal benefits dry up, the Senate remains largely in a holding pattern.
However, there is new optimism among some lawmakers as bipartisan talks intensified last week, and many hope the same momentum will continue this week.
TRUMP'S “NUCLEAR” DEMAND IS NOT PRESENT FOR SENATE REPUBLICANS UNDER SHUTDOWN
The Senate returns to Washington, D.C., as the shutdown approaches its longest on record and as neither party is ready to shift its positions. (Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images)
But for now, neither side is backing down from the positions they have held since October 1, when the lockdown officially began.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck SchumerD.N.Y. and his Democratic caucus want to reach an agreement to allow Obamacare premium subsidies to expire before they agree to reopen the government. Open enrollment officially began across the country on Saturday.
They have long warned that if a deal isn't done before open enrollment begins, Americans who rely on subsidies will see their insurance premiums rise sharply, even though the subsidies don't expire until the end of this year.
“People are going to see a dramatic, dramatic increase in health care costs,” Schumer said last week. “On a Friday night, people will be sitting at the dinner table with a hole in it, with a hole in the backing, and asking, 'How are we going to do this?'”
FOOD TAMPONS FOR 42 MILLION AMERICANS AT RISK TODAY DUE TO CLOSURES
President Donald Trump looks on as he speaks to the media aboard Air Force One en route to Joint Base Andrews, Nov. 2, 2025. (Elisabeth Franz/Reuters)
Senate Republicans largely agree that some kind of expansion of the subsidies is needed, but they also want to make a number of reforms to the program, which was expanded under the former president. Joe Biden.
And Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R.S.D., has suggested that Senate Democrats vote on Obamacare subsidies, but they say it's not enough and want the president Donald Trump take part.
Trump has officially returned to the country after a nearly week-long trip to Asia, but still appears to be keeping the quarantine at bay.
While Schumer and his Democratic caucus' demands remain focused on expiring Obamacare subsidies, they have also accused Trump of failing to fund federal food benefits as he did in 2019, and Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., have called for a meeting with the president.
THE GOVERNMENT IS ENTERING THE LONGEST COMPLETE IMPRISONMENT IN US HISTORY WITH NO END IN SIGHT
Senate Majority Leader John Thune speaks during a news conference with Senate Republican leadership following a political luncheon on Capitol Hill in Washington, October 28, 2025. (Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images)
But Trump won't meet with top Democrats in Congress until the shutdown ends, something he and Republicans have said time and time again.
And he won't back down from health care talks until the government reopens.
“I'm not going to do this while being extorted by wayward Democrats,” Trump said on CBS's 60 Minutes. “Something is wrong with these people.”
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Meanwhile, Trump called on Senate Republicans to get rid of the 60-vote threshold in the upper chamber. It's the vaunted third way for Senate Republicans and a longtime priority for Senate Democrats.
He renewed that call over the weekend in posts Saturday and Sunday on his social media site, Truth Social.
“Republicans, you will regret the day you didn't do this. STOP THE FILIBUSTER!!! BE TOUGH, BE SMART AND WIN,” he said.
