Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) said Thursday he offered Democrats a chance to vote on their top demand of extending Affordable Care Act subsidies, to help end the federal shutdown, but the overture has not broken the stalemate now in its 16th day.
Thune Offers Vote Without Policy Guarantees
In an interview with MSNBC's Ali Vitali, Thune said he told Democrats, "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, while emphasizing he would not negotiate the substance of any health-care deal until the government reopens.
Thune claims to have left the door open to scheduling votes on Democratic priorities or making process commitments on the fiscal 2026 spending cycle once agencies are funded. But an offer to guarantee a vote, without promising an outcome, has not swayed enough Democrats to advance the GOP stopgap that would fund the government through Nov. 21.
Democrats Seek Concrete Commitments On ACA Subsidies
With a 60-vote threshold in the Senate, Republicans would need at least five additional Democratic votes. The chamber on Thursday again failed to move forward on Republican funding measures, as per a Reuters report.
Democrats disputed Thune's account. "Leader Thune has not come to me with any proposal at this point," Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) told reporters, saying Republicans had not offered a concrete vote to extend ACA subsidies.
GOP Leaders Reject Promising Outcomes In Advance
Asked about Thune's comments, House Speaker Mike Johnson reiterated that no result on health policy can be promised in advance. "It's not possible for Leader Thune to guarantee to Chuck Schumer some outcome on that, because we haven't finished those deliberations," Johnson said at a morning news conference, according to a report by ABC News.
The shutdown's political and practical pressures mounted as Senate Democrats blocked a Pentagon spending bill Republicans hoped would highlight the cost of inaction while ensuring troop pay. Per a Reuters account, the measure fell short of the 60 votes needed to proceed, reflecting Democrats' insistence that any funding package also address soon-to-expire ACA subsidies to prevent premium spikes.
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