After 14 failed votes and a 40-day-long shutdown, the Senate is poised to take its first step toward reopening the government, with enough Democrats expected to relent on their healthcare demands to allow Republicans to overcome a filibuster.
The test vote, slated to take place on Sunday night, comes shortly after Senate appropriators put the finishing touches on three full-year bills that would fund Veterans Affairs, Agriculture, and other federal departments.
The basic framework for a spending deal, attaching the three bills to a short-term extension for the rest of the government, is largely unchanged from what Republicans have been offering for weeks. The legislation does not include the extension of premium Obamacare subsidies Democrats have been demanding in exchange for their votes.
Instead, Republicans will allow a December vote on the subsidies, with no guarantee they can pass Congress or will be signed into law. As another concession, Republicans agreed to reverse thousands of planned layoffs the White House has announced since Oct. 1, when the shutdown first began, and prevent more from happening through January.
Sunday’s planned vote is just the first in a series of procedural hurdles that could draw the process out for days, unless all Democrats drop their objections to the funding plan. A group of centrist Senate Democrats reached a deal with Republicans on Sunday evening to overcome the filibuster’s 60-vote threshold, according to a source familiar with the matter, but more progressive members are still opposed.
The legislation would also need to clear the House, which has been out of session for well over a month, before it could be sent to President Donald Trump’s desk. The House has already passed a short-term extension to Nov. 19, but the new funding patch would last until the end of January.
On Sunday afternoon, Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) and other House Democrats came out against the funding bill, while the White House signaled its support.
The government funding deal represents a long-awaited breakthrough for Republicans and the first concrete sign that the government shutdown will end sometime this coming week.
Until now, only a few Senate Democrats were willing to break ranks with their leadership on the Obamacare subsidies, but mounting delays at airports and a lapse in food stamps benefits eventually became too much for more centrist members.
The Federal Aviation Administration required airlines to cut hundreds of flights due to staffing shortages on Friday, while Trump appears to have won a court battle over food stamps, ordering states to halt full payments for November.
Republicans have said they are willing to negotiate a healthcare deal before the end of the year, when the enhanced Obamacare subsidies run out, but their refusal to commit to an extension has been the main stumbling block to reopening the government.
WHERE EVERY SENATE REPUBLICAN STANDS ON TRUMP’S CALL TO END THE FILIBUSTER
On Friday, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) backed off his demand for a permanent renewal of the subsidies, proposing a one-year extension instead, but Republicans roundly rejected the proposal.
Since the start of the shutdown, Republicans have insisted that any funding deal be separate from policy debates.
