Senators returned to Capitol Hill for a rare Sunday session as lawmakers worked through the weekend to end the 40-day government shutdown. The longest in modern U.S. history.
According to CBS News, Senate Majority Leader John Thune said lawmakers “plan to vote today” on a funding measure aimed at reopening the government and passing a trio of long-term appropriations bills known as a minibus. The package would combine funding for military construction, the Department of Veterans Affairs, the legislative branch, the FDA, and the Department of Agriculture.
“Senators are working on finalizing the text of a package of three long-term appropriations bills that would be part of the GOP plan to end the impasse,” CBS News reported. “Thune is pursuing a strategy that would involve voting to advance the House-passed continuing resolution and amending it to include the appropriations package — as well as a longer extension of government funding.”
The first of those bills, a 92-page measure funding veterans’ programs and military construction, was released Sunday afternoon. Senators are expected to review the text before any vote takes place.
Meanwhile, Axios reports that a bipartisan deal may finally be within reach. At least ten Senate Democrats have signaled they could support a procedural motion to move forward with the package, which would include a short-term continuing resolution through January and a December vote on a Democratic proposal to extend Affordable Care Act tax credits for one year.
“It is the most significant movement toward a bipartisan breakthrough in the talks to reopen the government in over a month,” Axios wrote. “Talks are fluid, and no deal is final until lawmakers have voted.”
Republicans spent much of Saturday attacking the Affordable Care Act, echoing President Trump’s criticism earlier in the day. Democrats, meanwhile, continue to push for measures that would protect laid-off federal workers affected by the shutdown.
As of Sunday afternoon, the Senate had not yet scheduled a specific vote time, but both parties appeared closer than at any point since the shutdown began.
This is a developing story. Legal Insurrection will continue to update as more details emerge from Capitol Hill.
UPDATE: From Andrew Desiderio over at Punch Bowl News, this is how the end of the shutdown could happen, starting today:
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