Talks to end government shutdown take a promising turn, Senate majority leader says

Bipartisan talks successful the U.S. Senate to extremity the government shutdown person taken a affirmative turn, Senate Majority Leader John Thune said connected Saturday, with lawmakers moving connected deals to temporarily reopen the authorities and present 3 longer-term backing bills for immoderate agencies.

Asked by reporters whether determination person been bipartisan talks wrong the past 24 hours that person been affirmative successful nature, Thune, a South Dakota Republican, responded, "Yeah. I'd accidental so."

Saturday marked the 39th time of the national shutdown, which has already sidelined galore national workers and affected food aid, air travel and nationalist parks. After weeks ot.f faltering talks, Republicans and Democrats successful the U.S. Senate seemed to commencement negotiating successful earnest precocious this week.

Lawmakers connected Saturday hoped to unveil the afloat substance of 3 fiscal 2026 full-year backing measures for agriculture, nutrient and nutrition programs, on with wealth for subject operation projects, veterans' programs and backing to run Congress, according to Republican senators. The proposals would money those operations done Sept. 30, 2026.

Meanwhile, senators person been moving connected a stopgap measurement that would bargain them much clip to scope a woody connected the remaining 9 "discretionary" spending bills for the remainder of the national government, specified arsenic agencies for homeland security, defense, lodging and health.

North Dakota Republican Senator John Hoeven told reporters that the short-term funding, present acceptable to expire connected Nov. 21, would beryllium updated with caller authorities to reopen the authorities and support it funded done precocious January.

Thune said "it would beryllium great" if votes could beryllium held connected Saturday, but did not perpetrate to a acceptable timeline. "We'll spot however the time goes arsenic radical person an accidental to steadfast up their views," helium said.

Despite Thune's upbeat talk, Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer connected Saturday attacked the Trump medication for withholding SNAP nutrient stamp backing and accused it of playing "politics" by imposing reduced hose flights astatine definite airports.

Schumer connected the Senate level complained that Republicans "stormed retired of the gate" connected Friday to reject Democrats' telephone for a one-year hold of an expiring wellness security subsidy arsenic portion of authorities to reopen the government.

The enactment of astatine slightest 8 Democrats is apt needed for the shutdown logjam to beryllium broken. Thune did not accidental however Republicans would grip Democrats' demands to widen subsidies utilized by 24 cardinal radical successful the Affordable Care Act's wellness security marketplaces.

President Donald Trump "wants to person a solution to the health-care situation successful this country, which is skyrocketing premiums," Thune said. But Republicans person said they volition not negociate connected wellness security subsidies until the shutdown ends.

Trump connected Saturday urged Republican senators to redirect national wealth utilized to subsidize wellness security nether the Affordable Care Act toward direct payments to individuals. While immoderate Republican senators person voiced support, Democrats truthful acold person mostly been silent.

"I americium recommending to Senate Republicans that the Hundreds of Billions of Dollars presently being sent to wealth sucking Insurance Companies successful bid to prevention the atrocious Healthcare provided by ObamaCare, BE SENT DIRECTLY TO THE PEOPLE SO THAT THEY CAN PURCHASE THEIR OWN, MUCH BETTER, HEALTHCARE, and person wealth near over," Trump wrote connected Truth Social, without offering details.

The ACA marketplaces let radical to bargain policies straight from wellness insurers and chiefly service radical who don't person sum done employers oregon the Medicare and Medicaid authorities programs.

Representatives for the White House did not respond to a petition for remark connected Trump's post.

Trump's comments came conscionable hours earlier the U.S. Senate were acceptable to reconvene astatine noon (1700 GMT) aft rejecting authorities connected Friday that would person resumed paychecks for hundreds of thousands of national workers during the longest authorities shutdown successful U.S. history.

The record-long shutdown was taking its toll connected galore programs.

For example, immoderate 10,000 young children and families person been near without Head Start early-learning and nutrition programs due to the fact that of closures successful 18 states and Puerto Rico, according to the First Five Years Fund, which advocates for childcare and aboriginal learning programs astatine the national level.

These programs had Oct. 1 and Nov. 1 deadlines for the national authorities renewing their grants. Those approvals froze with the commencement of the shutdown connected Oct. 1, erstwhile appropriated backing ran out.