Senate Democrats wrestle over whether to cut a shutdown deal

Senate Democrats are wrestling with a painful decision: whether to finally accept Republicans’ offer that would end the government shutdown.

The GOP proposal they’re considering would involve a vote to extend expiring health insurance subsidies, floor consideration of several bipartisan funding bills, and a new stopgap funding bill that would last until December or January. But the offer makes it tough for Democrats to end the shutdown with a concrete policy win; Republicans are essentially offering them a rehashed menu of options.

The promised vote on Affordable Care Act subsidies, Democrats’ core priority, could easily fail on the Senate floor.

The plan is certain to divide the Democratic caucus — and possibly also their Republican colleagues — as senators try to assemble a bipartisan deal to reopen the government, ending 35 days of a debilitating shutdown.

Democrats held a marathon lunch meeting Tuesday, bordering on three hours, to hash out the options ahead of them, and air some grievances. They aired plenty of disparate opinions, harkening back to their March disagreement over whether to fund the government.

“I don’t think there’s a clear outcome. A lot of different views expressed. Some people said nothing. I can’t tell you exactly what we’re doing next,” Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin, D-Ill., told Semafor. “We’re still talking about terms of agreement and if there are enough [Democratic yes votes].”

Many centrists are seeking a way out of the increasingly painful five-week shutdown even as progressives urge the party to stick to its position of fighting for health care. Those centrists dominated a Monday night meeting where nearly a dozen Senate Democrats huddled to discuss a path forward.

After the full caucus hashed things out on Tuesday, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said the party is “exploring all our options.” One of Schumer’s top deputies, Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, said he has a “very good poker face” as he declined to answer questions.

“There’s a lot of pushing and pulling and discussing, including across the aisle. This is what we need to to bring it to culmination,” said Sen. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich. “When there’s a deal and we get something on health care, I’ll be ready to vote on reopening the government.”

On the other side of the aisle, Senate Majority Leader John Thune is weighing whether to keep the chamber in session until the government is funded. He said that if a path to a deal looks clear, he would consider keeping senators in Washington through the weekend.