It’s Day 9 of the shutdown, and the funding lapse is looking more likely to extend into next week as the Senate considers heading home for the weekend.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., questioned whether a weekend session makes any sense at all, saying: “I don’t know if that does any good.”
Senators are trying to keep things civil. “We continue to talk with our Democratic colleagues. We’re not mad at one another,” Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D., told Semafor.
At the same time, the shutdown is making the dysfunctional Capitol more tense.
On Wednesday, Democratic Arizona Sens. Mark Kelly and Ruben Gallego sparred with House Speaker Mike Johnson over the lower chamber’s prolonged recess, and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., battled over the Republican’s proposal to extend health care subsidies for a year.