Government shutdown impasse stretches on as Senate Republicans reject Democrats' health care offer

In a Truth Social post on Saturday morning, President Trump said he was recommending Senate Republicans end the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare.

He said the money used to fund the program should be sent directly to members of the American public instead of "money sucking Insurance Companies in order to save the bad Healthcare provided by ObamaCare."

"In other words, take it from the BIG, BAD Insurance Companies, give it to the people," Mr. Trump wrote. 

Mr. Trump criticized the ACA as "the worst Healthcare anywhere in the World." He added that Congress "must still terminate the Filibuster!"

Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson on Friday froze, for now, a lower court order that required the Trump administration to swiftly provide full federal food benefits to roughly 42 million Americans.

The order from Jackson is temporary. She said it will give a federal appeals court more time to consider whether to provide the Trump administration with longer emergency relief while an appeal in the dispute over payments for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program moves forward. 

The Supreme Court's late-stage intervention came as the Trump administration closed in on an end-of-day deadline, set by a district court judge Thursday, to cover in full food assistance for November and use roughly $4 billion for other nutrition programs to do so. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 1st Circuit had temporarily left in place the lower court's decision, after which the Justice Department sought emergency relief from the Supreme Court.

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Republican Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana rescinded his most recent prediction that the shutdown could last at least another week or two. 

"Whatever I said last night, forget it," he told reporters. "We're going to be here for a long time." 

Kennedy predicted that flight cancellations will "ratchet up the pressure" on both sides to find a way out of the shutdown. 

"But other than that, both sides seem dug in," he said. "So I think we're going to be shut down for a while." 

Kennedy said he did not expect any deal to come together Saturday, when the Senate will be in session for the first time over a weekend since the shutdown began more than a month ago. 

"I'm not kidding, you guys," he said. "This shutdown is going to last a long time." 

GOP Sen. Susan Collins of Maine told reporters, "I truly don't know," when asked about the path forward on Saturday. 

"All I know is I canceled my plans to go to Maine, where I was supposed to attend a funeral tomorrow," she said, adding "we're continuing to work on the three appropriations bills." 

Collins said she met for a "substantial amount of time" with GOP Rep. Tom Cole, Democratic Rep. Rosa DeLauro and Democratic Sen. Patty Murray — the other top lawmakers on the Senate and House appropriations committees. 

A federal judge alleged its members' auto-reply emails were changed without their permission to insert the partisan message. 

Cooper said the move violated the First Amendment because the government had essentially forced staffers to make a political statement against their will, a concept known as "compelled speech."

"Nonpartisanship is the bedrock of the federal civil service; it ensures that career government employees serve the public, not the politicians. But by commandeering its employees' e-mail accounts to broadcast partisan messages, the Department chisels away at that foundation," the judge wrote. "Political officials are free to blame whomever they wish for the shutdown, but they cannot use rank-and-file civil servants as their unwilling spokespeople. The First Amendment stands in their way."

CBS News reached out to the Department of Education for comment.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune said the Senate will return Saturday at noon. 

"We'll see if something comes together that we can vote on," Thune told reporters. "Remains to be seen." 

The Senate failed to reach the 60-vote threshold needed to advance GOP Sen. Ron Johnson's Shutdown Fairness Act. 

The vote ended with 53 voting in favor and 43 voting against it. Three Democrats voted for the bill: Sens. Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock of Georgia, and Sen. Ben Ray Luján of New Mexico.

A procedural vote on the bill on Oct. 23 also failed, with three Democrats joining Republicans to support it. 

The Senate is voting on whether to advance the Shutdown Fairness Act, the bill put forth by GOP Sen. Ron Johnson. The current version of the legislation would pay federal employees who have continued to work during the shutdown, but Johnson has an amendment that would also pay furloughed workers. The motion to proceed will need 60 votes to succeed.

Johnson noted that major unions representing federal employees support the legislation.

"What they particularly like about my bill is the fact that it's permanent. It prevents federal workers — and quite honestly, the broader American public — from being used as pawns again in these sick political games being played right now with their lives," he said on the floor before the vote.

"I am actually pleading for my colleagues on the other side of the aisle to please vote to proceed to this bill," he said.

President Trump called on the Senate to stay in town until the shutdown is resolved, or eliminate the filibuster if senators are unable to reach a deal.

"The United States Senate should not leave town until they have a Deal to end the Democrat Shutdown," he posted on Truth Social. "If they can't reach a Deal, the Republicans should terminate the Filibuster, IMMEDIATELY, and take care of our Great American Workers!"

Thune told CBS News that the Democratic proposal is a "nonstarter" as GOP lawmakers entered a conference meeting near the Senate chamber.

"I think everybody who follows this knows that's a nonstarter. There is no way. The Obamacare extension is the negotiation. That's what we're going to negotiate once the government opens up," he said. "But, you know, a one-year extension along the lines of what they're suggesting, I think everybody knows they're — and without Hyde protections — it doesn't even get close."

Thune was referring to the Hyde amendment, which restricts federal funding for abortions.

Thune added: "We need to vote to open the government. And there is a proposal out there to do that, and then we can have this whole conversation about health care."

"I think it's an indication that they're feeling the heat, and they know that their last proposal was unserious and unrealistic," he said. "So I guess you could characterize that as progress, but I just don't think that it gets anywhere close to what we need to do here. And they know it. And I think anybody who's been following this debate knows it too."

GOP Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina offered his opinion of the Democratic proposal to reporters at the Capitol.

"Terrible. Horrible. I'm not going to keep giving taxpayer dollars to the five largest health care insurance companies under Obamacare to get the government open," Graham said.

"This idea of flooding insurance companies for another year to open up the government is ridiculous," he added. "It's political terrorism, and it needs to stop."

An official with the Department of Agriculture who oversees SNAP provided provide full food benefits to roughly 42 million Americans through November.

Patrick Penn, deputy undersecretary of Food, Nutrition and Consumer Services, said in the guidance that the agency is "working towards implementing November 2025 full benefit issuances in compliance with" U.S. District Judge John McConnell's decision Thursday.

Penn said the Trump administration "will complete the processes necessary to make funds available" to cover SNAP benefits for November in-full.

McConnell's order directed the USDA to swiftly provide full federal food benefits to SNAP recipients by tapping into two tranches of money: a contingency fund and a second pot of money used for Child Nutrition programs. He gave the Trump administration until Friday to make the full November payments to Americans participating in the anti-hunger program.

But the Justice Department appealed the decision and has asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 1st Circuit to block the order.

About 30 Democratic senators are currently in the chamber to hear colleagues take turns endorsing the proposal Schumer unveiled a few minutes ago. 

The Republican side of the aisle is mostly empty, with only South Dakota Sen. Mike Rounds listening in as the Democrats speak.

Schumer said Democrats will reopen the government if Republicans agree to attaching a one-year extension of health insurance tax credits, the issue that has been at the center of their demands since the shutdown began. 

"After so many failed votes, it's clear we need to try something different. What the Senate is doing isn't working for either party, and isn't working for the American people," he said. "Let's find a path to honor both positions."

Schumer said Democrats want to see an end to the shutdown and want to respect Thune's stance that Republicans won't negotiate on the tax credits until the government is open. He proposed passing a one-year extension as part of a bill to fund the government, before opening broader health care negotiations.

"We would like to offer a simple proposal that would reopen the government and extend the ACA premium tax credits simultaneously. And then have the opportunity to start negotiating longer-term solutions to health care costs. Let's do all three," Schumer said, calling it a "very simple compromise."

"Democrats are ready to clear the way to quickly pass a government funding bill that includes health care affordability. Leader Thune just needs to add a clean, one-year extension of the ACA tax credits to the CR so we can immediately address rising health care costs," he said.

"With this approach, we do not negotiate health care in the shutdown as Leader Thune maintains he wishes," he said. 

Schumer argued that "all Republicans have to do is say yes to extend current law for one year," saying "it makes sense." 

"Now, the ball is in the Republicans' court," he said. 

Senate Democrats joined Schumer on the Senate floor in a show of unity. 

Thune, asked by reporters whether there's a chance the Senate will vote on the House-passed CR today, said, "Probably not."

"I do want to see if there's a chance, a path forward, get the number of votes we need to pass. But just having another vote at this point doesn't make sense to me," Thune said. 

Thune said Republicans would like to have a vote on the three-bill appropriations package. But he said it makes more sense to proceed with a vote on Johnson's bill to pay federal workers.

Coming out of the chamber, Johnson told reporters that Peters was "lying on the floor of the Senate" about Johnson's bill to pay federal workers. 

"You think the unions would be supporting this thing if we were expanding the presidential authority to fire people? It's completely silent on that," the Wisconsin Republican said. "I come from the private sector. I'm used to dealing with people with integrity, that don't lie through their teeth. In the U.S. Senate, you've got U.S. senators completely misrepresenting things, because apparently they can get away with it … He was just lying on the floor of the Senate here."

Johnson said Peters' bill is "grossly inadequate."

He added that Republicans are set to hold a conference meeting at 3:30 p.m.

The American Federation of Government Employees, a labor union that represents more than 800,000 federal and D.C. workers, is urging senators to back Johnson's legislation that would provide funding to pay members of the military and federal workers during the shutdown.

In a letter to senators, Everett Kelley, national president of AFGE, expressed his backing for Johnson's amended bill, called the Shutdown Fairness Act, and said it is time for Congress to take action to help federal employees.

"Every missed paycheck deepens the financial hole in which federal workers and their families find themselves," Kelley wrote. "By the time Congress reaches a compromise, the damage will have been done — to their bank accounts, their credit ratings, their health, and their dignity."

In his letter, Kelley said he distributed food to federal employees at a food bank in Maryland this week and lamented that many government employees facing financial hardship because of missed paychecks during the shutdown are still required to work and provide services to the public.

"This state of affairs should be morally repugnant to every member of Congress," he wrote.

Kelley said Johnson's bill is intended to provide "immediate relief" to service members and federal workers under financial strain because of the shutdown.

The House will be out for another week, according to a notice the clerk read during the lower chamber's brief pro forma session. 

The House was always scheduled to be on break next week, according to its original calendar. But the House has not been in session since Sept. 19 when it passed Republicans' short-term funding extension. The House-passed bill would have extended funding until Nov. 21. 

House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, has kept lawmakers on break since the measure passed and has said that they will receive 48 hours notice before they're expected to return. 

The House is next scheduled to be in session from Nov. 17 through Nov. 20, then off for the rest of the month. 

Thune joined Johnson on the floor and angrily addressed Democratic Sen. Gary Peters before saying that the Senate would take a recorded vote on Johnson's bill to pay all federal workers.

"You're objecting because you think it grants too much power to the president?" Thune said. 

Thune said Democrats' posture was to "keep federal employees hostage," warning that Peters' proposal only addresses pay for workers retroactively, not moving forward. 

"I can't believe people come down here and look these people in the eye, when he's saying right here, we will pay them, not only for today, but for tomorrow, and for the entire year, and we won't allow them to be held hostage and be pawns in a political game in the future," the South Dakota Republican said.

"Please, please help me understand. This is a straightforward proposal which addresses the concern that millions of Americans have," Thune said. "And you're going to come down here and object?"

"We're going to vote on this, so the senator from Michigan can object … but everybody in this chamber's going to be put on the record … I am tired of political games. I really am," Thune said. 

Johnson chimed back in, telling Peters, "I'm literally begging you — do not object."

Johnson outlined that passing the bill by roll call vote would take more time, urging Peters to let the bill pass by voice vote so the House can return to vote on it and federal workers can begin being paid. 

"I want to pay federal employees," Peters responded, citing his own proposal. 

GOP Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin came to the floor to ask for unanimous consent to advance his bill to keep federal workers paid during government shutdowns. He said Republicans had agreed to an updated version of the bill, known as the Shutdown Fairness Act, that would also pay furloughed federal workers, in addition to those who have continued to work, as his original bill would do.

Democratic Sen. Gary Peters of Michigan, who has a competing proposal to pay workers during the current shutdown, objected to Johnson's bill and asked that the Senate adopt his legislation instead. Johnson refused.

"It's important the American public understands what's going on here. Again, I came down here two weeks ago. I modified my bill quite dramatically, and entered into talks immediately with the senator from Delaware and the senator from Michigan," Johnson said. "Two weeks ago they were accusing my bill of giving the president all this additional authority. In discussions staff-to-staff, there is no additional authority given to the president in this bill whatsoever. This bill's completely silent on the president's authority in terms of who he can furlough."

Johnson said that "no federal employee would be excluded" from being paid, and called Peters' allegation that it would allow the president to decide who gets paid "total hogwash."

"This is further evidence of the gamesmanship that Democrats are playing with people's lives," Johnson said.

Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin introduced a bill Friday to restore funding for Head Start programs during the shutdown.

"My bill would give families certainty that Head Start and the care it provides will continue," Baldwin said in a statement provided exclusively to CBS News. "If my Republican colleagues don't want to sit down and talk about saving 22 million Americans from skyrocketing health care costs, I hope they can at least agree that 750,000 children and their families shouldn't pay the price for Washington dysfunction."

The Keep Head Start Funding Act of 2025 would ensure that programs could keep operating even if Congress hasn't passed new appropriations bills. It would retroactively take effect from Sept. 30 — immediately before government funding lapsed and the shutdown began. 

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President Trump reiterated his call for Senate Republicans to do away with the filibuster to end the shutdown Friday, telling reporters during a bilateral meeting with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán that "the way to do it for the Republicans is to terminate the filibuster."

Senate GOP leaders have pushed back on the president's request, saying that the votes aren't there to do away with the 60-vote threshold needed to advance most legislation.

"That's too bad, they're making a big mistake," Mr. Trump said of GOP opposition to nixing the rule. "No, but they're coming my way."

The president said "only a foolish person would be against that," adding that "it doesn't make any sense that a Republican would not want to do that."

"The Democrats will do this," he said. "So if the Democrats are going to do it, I'm saying Republicans should do it before they get a chance. It's very simple. And if we do it, we will never lose the midterms, and we will never lose the general election, because we will have produced so many different things for our people, for the people, for the country, that it would be impossible to lose an election."

Asked how long the shutdown will last, Mr. Trump said, "I don't know."


"It's up to the Democrats," he said. "The Republicans have voted 14 times to open up the country, the Democrats have voted 14 times to hurt the country, really. They should approve it, but they might not. That's why I like the fact that we terminate the filibuster. If we terminate the filibuster, the country will be open within 10 minutes after that termination."

On the possibility of a deal with Democrats, Mr. Trump said, "I don't know, we'll see what they have." 

Thune told reporters "the wheels came off" on bipartisan talks after Democrats held a caucus meeting on Thursday, pointing to disengagement on the other side of the aisle. 

Asked where the disengagement occurred, Thune said, "I don't know, you'll have to ask them."

"But all I know is that the pep rally they had at lunch yesterday, evidently changed some minds," he said. "I thought we were on a track. We had given them everything they wanted or had asked for, and at some point I was gonna say they have to take yes for an answer, and they were trending in that direction."

The majority leader said "right now we've got to get the Democrats kind of back engaged."

Exiting the Senate floor, Thune told reporters that "we'll see what happens over the course of the next couple of days, but I would expect that we're going to be here for the weekend."

"Our members are going to be advised to be available if, in fact, there's a need to vote, and we will see what happens and whether or not, over the course of the next couple of days, the Democrats can find their way to reengage again," he said.

Heading into the Senate chamber, Majority Leader John Thune said the chamber could vote today or tomorrow.

"We will continue to proceed forward in hopes at some point we'll get a chance to vote, whether that's today or tomorrow, on a package of bills that we have been negotiating with Democrats," he said. "Again, we've just got to get them to take yes for an answer."

GOP Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin said Senate Republicans will try to pass his bill that would pay essential workers, members of the military and contractors who continue to work during government shutdowns.

"We hope to pass the bill today by unanimous consent or voice vote. No Republican senator objects to the bill, and we hope the same is true among the Democrat senators," Johnson said in a statement to CBS News. "If not, we will call for a roll call vote to reveal which senators are willing to use federal workers as political pawns and jeopardize the safety and security of the American people."

After the bill failed to advance on Oct. 23, Johnson said he would keep pushing for the legislation and continue talks with Democrats. Johnson noted the differences between his bill and competing Democratic proposals, namely that his version would apply to all future shutdowns, not just the current impasse. 

"I want to make this permanent. I want to stop playing brinkmanship. I want to stop playing with people's lives," he said at the time. 

The Senate convened shortly after noon, with the schedule for votes still an open question. You can watch a live stream of the proceedings on the floor in the video player at the top of this page.

Outside the Senate, South Dakota Republican Sen. Mike Rounds said Thune will decide what the chamber takes up this afternoon, and that a GOP bill to pay federal workers who have remained on the job could see a vote.

"It'll be up to the leader as to what he wants to call for a vote. I think, you know, there may be some other alternatives out there to maybe allay some of the damage that's being done by the government shutdown, but we'll have to wait and see," Rounds said. 

A reporter asked if he was referring to the bill led by Sen. Ron Johnson, which failed to advance two weeks ago.

"Yeah, I think that's one of the possibilities," Rounds replied. "And I think there may be some other possibilities as well, but I think that one might have a chance of passing. We don't know."

He said he expects votes "earlier rather than later."

Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, walking with a group of progressive senators into Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer's office, told reporters that the level of unity among Senate Democrats remains "high" as they continue to push for their health care demands.  

"We've had exactly zero negotiations over this," she said, referring to talks with Republicans. "Because they've just drawn a line in the sand."

The Justice Department has asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 1st Circuit to swiftly pause a district judge's order that requires the U.S. Department of Agriculture to provide full federal food benefits for November by Friday.

In the cover up to 65% of allotments to eligible households for November. Administration officials have said it would take $9 billion to fully cover the benefits.

But in his order, McConnell said the administration also had to dip into a different fund created by Section 32 of the Agricultural Adjustment Act to make the full payments for November benefits.

The Trump administration is asking the 1st Circuit to freeze McConnell's decision by 4 p.m.

Thune told reporters at the Capitol that working through the weekend "should be the expectation" if today's vote falls short. 

"There are a bunch of these people who want to get this done, realize this is really bad for the country, but at least at the moment are afraid," Thune said. "We've been working now for several days and those conversations will continue into the weekend if necessary, and I'm hoping that we'll get the requisite number of voters back, Democrats, to actually pass something that would open up the government."

A reporter asked: "You're going to have a vote today, but if you fail, you're going to be having a vote on Sunday? We're going to work through the weekend?"

"I think that should be the expectation," Thune said.

Speaking to Fox News, Thune said that the Senate would vote Friday on "paying people who are working." It was not clear whether he was referring to the vote on the House-passed continuing resolution or another bill.

He said Democrats are "running for cover" and "scared."

"That's the challenge we have right now in dealing with the Democrats. But I still think there are a handful of the reasonable ones, as we wear into the weekend here — and by the way, we're going to give them a chance to vote later today on paying people who are working," he said. "But if they don't at some point come to the table and open up the government, the American people are going to continue to suffer."

The Senate previously tried to advance a bill led by Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin to pay federal workers who remain on the job during a shutdown, but it failed on Oct. 23.

Appearing on Fox News, Senate Majority Leader John Thune laid out the Republicans' plan and suggested that moderate Democrats who are inclined to support it are being "bullied" by the left wing of the party and Democratic leadership.

"The far left and Democrat caucus bullied the reasonable ones out of coming to the table and settling this," Thune said. "I'm still hoping that these people are going to come to the table, and we'll find out soon enough."

Thune characterized Democrats' caucus meeting on Thursday as "a big pep rally." 

"I don't know how you defend that to the American people," he said.

The Senate will reconvene at noon, according to a notice from Majority Whip John Barrasso's office, but no time is currently set for the vote on the House-passed CR. The notice said only that "roll call votes are expected during Friday's session of the Senate."

The Senate is expected to vote later today on the House-passed measure to reopen the government, with a goal to amend the legislation to tack on three full-year appropriations measures as part of a proposal that's come out of bipartisan talks in recent days aimed at ending the shutdown. But the GOP plan still faces headwinds, and may not earn enough support from Democrats to move forward Friday. 

Although moderates involved in the bipartisan talks appeared optimistic about the prospects of reaching a deal earlier this week, which would also include a vote on a certain date on extending health insurance tax credits, conversations seemed to stall Thursday as Democrats met behind closed doors at a caucus meeting.

While some moderates have been eager to find a solution to reopen the government, others in the caucus appear emboldened by the party's sweep in key races in Tuesday's elections, pushing to hold out longer in the shutdown fight in an effort to achieve their health care demands. And House Speaker Mike Johnson's refusal to commit Thursday to bringing up a vote on extending health insurance tax credits dealt a blow to Democrats who appeared to be warming to the proposal. 

The planned vote on Friday, which is not yet scheduled, would require 60 votes to advance, meaning Republicans need at least five more Democrats to cross the aisle. Three senators have repeatedly broken with their party to vote in favor of advancing the House-passed measure. Republicans are hoping the moderate Democrats who have been in the negotiations all week will vote to at least advance the bill, with the expectation that it will be amended and include some longer-term funding.

At the Capitol, Thune commented on his expectations for Friday.

"My hopes and expectations are always that we're going to have enough Democrats to actually proceed, but I don't know, we'll see," the South Dakota Republican said. "They seem to be walking back or slow-walking this, and it's what they asked for."

The FAA's see the full list here.

On Thursday, Republican senators discussed the idea of adopting a limited change to the Senate's filibuster rules to make it easier to reopen the government without Democratic votes, Republican sources told CBS News.

They discussed lowering the threshold to fund the government during a shutdown from 60 votes to a simple majority of 51, but only if the vehicle is a "clean" continuing resolution without any strings attached. The change would not terminate the 60-vote threshold writ large as there is not widespread Republican support for eliminating it despite the president's recent entreaties to do so.

Republican sources suspected even the limited change under consideration might not even make it to a vote.

The 60-vote filibuster rule has been watered down in the past. Former Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid amended it in 2013 to allow executive and most judicial branch nominees to be confirmed by a simple majority, and four years later, former GOP Leader Mitch McConnell did the same for Supreme Court nominees. Recently, Thune has defended the Senate rule requiring 60 votes to pass most legislative matters.

Under Democratic control of the Senate under the Biden administration, Democrats discussed the nuclear option of eliminating the filibuster but faced opposition from within their own caucus due to two holdouts, Sens. Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema. Those two became independents and no longer are in the Senate.