Senate Majority Leader John Thune is trying to entice Democrats to support reopening the government with a vote on their biggest priority.
Thune, in an interview with MSNBC’s Ali Vitali, said he has told Democrats that “if you need a vote, we can guarantee you get a vote by a date certain.”
“At some point Democrats have to take yes for an answer,” he added.
Thune’s comments come as Senate Republicans move toward a carrot-and-stick approach to trying to break the funding stalemate.
While Thune continues to insist he won’t negotiate on the substance of a deal to extend soon-to-expire Affordable Care Act subsidies while the government is closed, he has left the door open to giving Democrats votes on their priorities or commitments on the fiscal 2026 appropriations process once it is reopened.
An offer to vote on the ACA subsidies hasn’t been enough, yet, to shake loose an additional five Democrats, who would be needed to pass the GOP-led stopgap to fund the government through Nov. 21.
A bipartisan group of rank-and-file senators have been discussing how to get out of the government shutdown, but they have not reached an agreement.
Part of those discussions have focused on an understanding for how the ACA discussions would work, including the potential for a standalone vote or setting a date for a deal on extending the subsidies to be reached. Some members of the group have floated a one-year extension of the subsidies, followed by a longer deal that would include reforms.
