Democrats refuse to end pain for Americans as shutdown reaches historic milestone

Democrats in the Senate He blocked the Republican attempt to reopen the government for a 14th time, ensuring that the government shutdown would become the longest in US history.

This step comes to reject the continuing resolution passed by the House of Representatives once again at a time when winds of optimism and exhaustion swept the Senate. Lawmakers are engaging in more bipartisan talks, and more of them believe a path out of the way is on the horizon.

However, Tuesday morning’s vote against CR came as the lockdown matched the previous record of 35 days set in 2019, and has ensured it will surpass that unfortunate milestone later in the evening.

The government shutdown became the longest in US history as Democrats stuck to Obama’s policy

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and his Democratic Party are standing their ground. (Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images)

Senate Minority Leader Chuck SchumerNew York state Democrats and his Democratic caucus remain largely steadfast in their position that unless a tough deal is reached on the end of Obamacare subsidies, they will not reopen the government.

During a speech on the Senate floor, Schumer placed the blame for the health care issue squarely on Republicans and the president Donald Trump Americans received notices of increased insurance premiums over the weekend.

“It seems like the only plan Republicans have with health care is to eliminate it and then tell workers to figure it out for themselves,” he said. “This is not a health care plan. This is cruel.”

However, his caucus’ resolve showed signs of weakening on Monday, when a group of about a dozen Senate Democrats met behind closed doors to discuss a way out.

Senate Majority Leader John ThuneRD said he is optimistic about the lockdown ending soon, but is not confident it will happen by the end of this week.

He noted that Republicans have presented a slew of options for Senate Democrats, including ensuring a vote on the expiring subsidies, or “whatever their Obamacare bill is,” after the government reopens. When asked if he thought lawmakers were close to reaching the end, he said: “I hope it will be soon.”

Senate Republicans are planning a long-term funding bill as the government shutdown continues

Senate Majority Leader John Thune speaks during a news conference with Senate Republican leadership after a political luncheon on Capitol Hill in Washington, October 28, 2025. (Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images)

“But the pressures, the cross-pressures that everyone is feeling, are great,” Thune said. “But I think there are people who realize that this has gone on long enough and that there’s enough pain inflicted on the American people that it’s time to end it. So we’ll see if there are enough numbers, you know.”

Then there’s the fact that the current Nov. 21 deadline for the House-passed Republican resolution doesn’t give lawmakers enough time to advance funding bills, which was a primary goal of Thune and others. Many do not want the government to reopen just to see it close a few weeks later.

Lawmakers are considering extending the current Republic Act, either by amending it or with a new bill, giving them enough time to finalize spending bills and avoid a huge omnibus spending bill at the end of the year. Some are looking forward to January, while others prefer to extend until December. Three spending bills, known as minibuses, could also be linked to the revamped expansion.

These talks are taking place in parallel with discussions on Obamacare, but neither party has yet taken a step to build a full exit from the shutdown.

When asked if he thought the shutdown might end this week, Sen. Mike Rounds, who has routinely participated in bipartisan talks since the shutdown began, said: “I don’t know, I hope so.”

“The bottom line is they can stop all of this with one vote and get back to it and get back to working on a bipartisan basis,” he said. “Again, that’s what we’re hoping for.”

Both sides recognize that changing support, whether through reforms or impacting rates, will be difficult given that insurers have already released rates and guidance over the weekend in line with the start of open enrollment.

The Senate returns to work as the government shutdown approaches the longest in US history over the Obamacare battle

President Donald Trump waits for Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to arrive at the White House in Washington on October 20, 2025. (Kevin Deitch/Getty Images)

However, lawmakers are still debating the way forward on the subsidy. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, who has been involved in bipartisan talks, said her proposal for the benefits would extend them for two years.

She noted that it would be “really difficult to make any reforms right now,” because insurance rates had been announced, and that her proposal was one of many in the mix.

Ultimately, it will come down to finding the right mix of ideas to build a subsidy exit. Murkowski said the income cap, which was eliminated when subsidies were strengthened under the former president, has been changed Joe Bidenand changes to low-cost premium contribution were just two ideas on the table.

“There’s nothing completely new that anyone’s really talking about,” she said. “It’s just what’s the right combination?”

But some Senate Democrats are frustrated that Trump has not been more involved, and say that unless he gives an explicit green light, any deal crafted in Congress will not matter.

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Trump agreed to meet with Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., only after the government reopened. Over the weekend, Senate Republicans called for eliminating the 60-vote threshold, something that is unlikely to happen anytime soon, if at all.

“At no time since October 1 has Donald Trump agreed to sit down with Democratic leaders,” said Sen. Andy Kim, D-N.J. “So, he can talk all he wants about the filibuster, but until he actually gets into the game and sits down and talks to us, it’s all meaningless to me. And I honestly, like, don’t care about him talking about this stuff on social media. Like, if he has time to tweet, he has time to come and talk to us.”