Shutdown enters second week as Democrats block funding bill for sixth time

Senate Democrats on Wednesday blocked a bill to end the government shutdown for a sixth time, as the funding lapse enters its second week with little headway made toward a resolution.

Senators voted 54-45 on the GOP’s "clean" stopgap spending package that would fund the government through late November. It needed 60 votes to advance.

Sens. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), Angus King (I-Maine) and John Fetterman (D-Pa.) voted with Republicans, but for a fifth time no ...

Schumer slams GOP health care policies: ‘No f‑‑‑ing way’

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) made clear Democrats are not backing down from their health care demands, as the U.S. government enters its second week of a shutdown.

In a heavily produced video posted to social platform X, the Democratic leader blamed his opponents for the shutdown and outlined the reasons his party is insisting on a deal to extend the Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies — which are set to expire at the end of the year, resulting in rising insur...

Pressure Points: Five ways the shutdown could end

Congress on Wednesday enters the eighth day of the federal shutdown with neither party giving an inch and the path to a resolution nowhere in sight. 

But something will have to give if lawmakers hope to reopen the government in any timely fashion, and that movement will likely be the result of external forces exerting pressure on one party — or both of them — to break the deadlock.

That's been the case in the protracted shutdowns of years past, when a number ...

GOP senator: ObamaCare messaging ‘very challenging,’ polls ‘asking the wrong questions’

Sen. Roger Marshall (R-Kan.) said Democrats are taking Republicans "hostage" with their demands to extend ObamaCare tax credits, but he conceded that winning the public relations battle over the issue was "very challenging."

Speaking Tuesday at The Hill's "Health Next Summit," Marshall, a medical doctor, said he did not believe the Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies passed during the COVID-19 pandemic were the "real issue" preventing Democrats from reaching a deal to end t...

Schumer: ‘Greene is absolutely right’ on health care demands

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) touted Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s (R-Ga.) call to extend Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies, as he doubled down on his opposition to funding the government without addressing the expiring tax credits.

In remarks on the Senate floor Tuesday, the Democratic leader read aloud from part of a social media post in which Greene said she’s “absolutely disgusted” that health insurance premiums could double if the ACA subsidies e...

Sanders: Trump may be ‘crazy’ and ‘lie all of the time,’ but ‘he’s a good politician’

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), while maintaining past criticisms voiced about President Trump, has praised the commander in chief's political prowess.

"It is clear that this shutdown has got to end as soon as possible," Sanders said on CNN's "The Source with Kaitlan Collins" on Monday. "But what‘s also clear is that Trump now understands that he has to finally deal with the health care crisis that his legislation, the big beautiful bill, has caused."

"Trump may be c...

Jon Stewart rips Schumer over joke: ‘What the f‑‑‑ are you doing?’

Comedian Jon Stewart ripped Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) on Monday over a flat joke.

Stewart played a clip of Schumer’s remarks during "The Daily Show," in which the lawmaker said, “Democrats are adamant that we must protect the health care of the American people.”

The comedian chimed in, “If you had stopped there, that would be great. But you’re going to keep talking, aren’t you?”

The recording of Schumer continued with footage of him n...

Senate frustrations rise as shutdown starts feeling like ‘Groundhog Day’

The government shutdown is turning into “Groundhog Day” for senators as they grow increasingly frustrated with the lack of movement toward a deal and repeated failed votes.

The Senate on Monday voted on the GOP’s “clean” stopgap funding bill and on a Democratic alternative, with both again failing to advance. Absent a substantial change in posture on either side, the upper chamber is expected to vote on the same continuing resolutions (CR) on Tuesday and Thursday.

Trump calls on Democrats to reopen government, will then work on health care

President Trump on Monday called on Democrats to reopen the government, saying he will only discuss a potential deal on extending health care tax credits once they support the GOP funding proposal.

In a statement on Truth Social, Trump appeared to shift from his earlier comments on Monday, when he signaled he was open to a deal with Democrats on health care, an issue at the core of the shutdown debate.

“Democrats have SHUT DOWN the United States Government right i...

Senate rejects dueling government funding bills on Day 6 of shutdown

The Senate on Monday pushed the government shutdown to the one-week mark as Democrats blocked the GOP's "clean" stopgap funding bill from advancing for a fifth time.

Senators voted 52-42 on the House-passed bill, which needed 60 votes to advance and would have funded the government at Biden-era spending levels until late November. The tally has remained virtually unchanged, other than absences, since the shutdown started last Wednesday.

The trio of Sens. Catherine...