Senate Majority Leader John Thune told fellow Republicans in a private lunch that he plans to hold a vote Friday that could pave the way to end the government shutdown, according to two people in the room who were granted anonymity to describe his comments.
The plan, the people said, is to bring up the House-passed continuing resolution that Democrats have repeatedly rejected and then seek to amend it with a new expiration date very likely in January as well as a negotiated package of three full-year spending bills.
Thune believes the deal will win the support of enough Democrats to advance, though the outcome is not guaranteed, the people said. Finalizing the deal could take days due to procedural hurdles and objections from senators.
In any case, Senate GOP leaders are preparing to keep lawmakers in Washington to try and force a resolution to the record-breaking shutdown. Asked if the chamber will be in through the weekend, Majority Whip John Barrasso said “yes.”
Senate Democrats, meanwhile, held their own lengthy lunch meeting Thursday to figure out their shutdown strategy. Democrats didn’t immediately throw in the towel after the lunch, with several suggesting that discussions within the caucus were ongoing.
Asked if they were moving closer to an agreement, Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) — who has helped lead bipartisan talks — told reporters she didn’t know. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called it a “very good, productive meeting.”
Several Democrats said the talks during the lunch were focused on how to remain unified as the latest turn in the shutdown negotiations puts a spotlight on Democratic divisions, including by offering a counter-proposal to the GOP on the three full-year funding bills.
“We want to stay together and unified. And we had a really good conversation about how to do that,” Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) told reporters after the lunch.
Mia McCarthy and Jennifer Scholtes contributed to this report.
