It’s Day 20 of the shutdown, and Democrats are wrestling with what they need to see in order to open the government back up.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune’s public offer to allow a vote on renewing expiring health care subsidies isn’t enough; Minority Leader Chuck Schumer says they haven’t talked directly about that idea.
Many Democrats want House Speaker Mike Johnson and President Donald Trump to sign off on anything; Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., said on NBC that otherwise it’s an “empty offer.”
Trump keeps saying there’s a deal to be made — and rank-and-file senators are still trying to figure out what their chamber can do.
“I can only take care of the Senate,” Sen. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., told Semafor. “Whatever is going to come out of here, I need to see sure that Americans aren’t going to have their premiums increase.”