The Senate leaves for the weekend as the government shutdown continues to stalemate

The Senate is scheduled to leave town on Friday until early next week as neither party is willing to give in in the ongoing stalemate of a government shutdown.

Lawmakers voted late night Thursday on the National Defense Authorization Act for 2026, which advanced on a largely bipartisan vote. But the $925 billion package, which authorizes funding for the Pentagon, was effectively the final decision of the week in the Senate.

While there was discussion about bringing the House GOP’s continuing resolution, along with the congressional Democrats’ counterproposal, to a final vote, the plan never came to fruition. It is possible that both have failed for the eighth time in a row.

Senate Democrats are again blocking the GOP plan to reopen the government as the military pay deadline approaches

Instead, Senate Republicans and Democrats will return on Tuesday of next week, after Columbus Day, to continue the back-and-forth over the GOP after a week of trying and failing to pass the bill and reopen the government.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., plans to continue pushing the Republican bill in an attempt to split up Senate Democrats. So far, only three Democratic caucus members have consistently broken away from their largely unified party.

Background talks have continued behind closed doors, but nothing has yet materialized into comprehensive negotiations on the end of Obamacare, formally known as the Affordable Care Act (ACA), and tax credits to find a way out as the government shutdown enters its third week.

“The issue of the Affordable Care Act is important to many of us, not just Democrats,” said Senator Susan Collins, Republican of Maine. “Tax subsidies have been strengthened during COVID-19. They need to be reformed, but they also need to be expanded.”

The Senate advances the 2026 defense bill after weeks of delay as the shutdown continues

Sen. Markwayne Mullen, R-Oklahoma, is one of the few Republicans who caucuses regularly with Democrats. He said he doesn’t meet with lawmakers who are “so passionate they can’t get out of office,” but so far, there has been no movement across the aisle.

Mullen and other Republicans want their short-term GOP bill to pass through Nov. 21, while Senate Democrats insist that, unless an agreement is reached on support for the Affordable Care Act, they will not provide the GOP with the votes to reopen the government.

“Well, if the situation continues as it is, the longer we go on, the more difficult it will become,” Mullen said. “It’s a big undertaking. Anything to do with the ACA or health care, you’ve got a lot of moving parts. I think it gets very difficult the longer this thing drags on.” [goes on]. “You come into next week. I mean, we have four and a half weeks, so that time frame is getting shorter.”

Their return next week also ensures that military personnel will not receive their paychecks on time, since the date for securing and processing payrolls falls on Monday.

“Certainly, if people miss a paycheck, violence will go up,” said Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.V.

The ongoing gridlock has left most Senate GOP members unwilling to consider turning to the “nuclear option,” a move they made last month when they unilaterally changed the Senate rules for confirming nominations to break through Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and his caucus of President Donald Trump’s nominees, to change the filibuster.

Senate GOP resists ‘nuclear option’ as standoff deepens as Democrats shut down

“There’s always a lot of buzz, you know, from social media and stuff, but no, we’re not having that conversation,” Thune said.

But not every Republican wants to ignore the 60-vote filibuster, as the GOP’s plan to reopen the government fails day after day to get five votes.

Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, said that if the shutdown continues, that is an option that should be considered.

“Look, 50%, 60% of Americans live paycheck to paycheck,” he said. “We’re going to stumble over this next week. Now if there was one more paycheck — 80% of Americans probably couldn’t live without two paychecks in a row. I think at this point we have to look at it and say ‘Democrats are still doing political stunts.'”

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Republicans also found a new point of attack against Democrats. Schumer said Punchbull News In an interview titled “Every Day Gets Better for Us,” he assessed the political momentum of Senate Democrats as the shutdown continues.

“Who are we?” “It’s not better for the American people,” said John Barrasso, the Senate Majority Whip from Wyoming. “Who does ‘we’ mean?” Not the army, which does not receive its salaries. Not border guards who don’t get paid. Not air traffic controllers who don’t get paid. Who is “we”? He’s playing a game!”

But Senate Democrats are largely ignoring the issue. Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, asserted that this was the latest attempt by Republicans to “change the subject from a 114% increase in premiums,” a point Democrats argued could happen if Obamacare tax credits are not extended.

“They’re a little desperate to change the news cycle, and this is their last attempt,” Schatz said.