Senate advances funding measure with backing of 8 Democrats, moving a step closer to ending shutdown

The Senate adjourned around 11:15 p.m. and is set to reconvene at 11 a.m. on Monday. 

House members have been notified that votes related to government funding are expected in the lower chamber this week, pending final passage of the funding measure in the Senate. 

The whip notice says members will be given 36 hours' notice of a vote. 

The House last voted on Sept. 19.

Some of the Democratic senators who supported advancing the government funding measure, enabling it to proceed, held a presser to defend their votes.

"This was the only deal on the table," said Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire.

Sen. Angus King of Maine, an independent who caucuses with Democrats, called the deal "a win for the American people."

He said the Democrats' shutdown strategy wasn't working. King had been voting with Republicans on the previous attempts to advance the funding measure. 

"There was zero chance of dealing with the [Affordable Care Act] issue as long as the shutdown continued," said King.

Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia, who said he joined the group of Democrats just 48 hours ago, told reporters, "We were in a situation where SNAP recipients were suffering, and there was no guarantee we would ever get to an ACA solution."

"Now we've got robust SNAP funding and a guaranteed vote — not a guaranteed outcome — but a guaranteed vote on ACA tax credits," Kaine said.

Sen. John Hickenlooper of Colorado, who remained a "no" vote, said, "There's no good choice … we have to stand up to this kind of strong man dictatorial approach to governing this country." He said the package offered "no relief … for the incredible pressures people are feeling." 

Hickenlooper said Democrats "did not get our key demand" to restore the Affordable Care Act premium tax credits, though he was quick to add that "there's not one person in the Democratic Caucus who doesn't believe that we need health care for everybody." 

— Grace Kazarian, Patrick Maguire 

The Senate voted to advance a House-passed measure to fund the government, marking a key breakthrough in the stalemate and paving the way to reopen the government later this week.

In a 60 to 40 vote, eight Democrats joined Republicans to advance the House-passed measure, which had fallen short on 14 previous votes. Here are the Democrats who joined Republicans on the vote:

• Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois
• Sen. Angus King of Maine (independent who caucuses with Democrats)
• Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada
• Sen. Jacky Rosen of Nevada
• Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania
• Sen. Tim Kaine of Virginia
• Sen. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire
• Sen. Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire

One Republican, Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, voted no.

Senate GOP leaders are expected to move to amend the legislation to attach a package of full-year appropriations bills as part of a deal to end the shutdown, along with an extension of the temporary funding measure to keep the government funded through January. 

The vote marks the start of what could be a lengthy series of procedural votes in the Senate, since any one senator can slow the process down. Once through the Senate, the House would also have to approve the legislation before it could receive the president's signature. 

The vote remained open and stood at 59-40 after two hours. Only GOP Sen. John Cornyn of Texas has yet to vote.

The vote remained open after an hour, with four GOP senators having yet to vote. Republican Sens. Mike Lee of Utah, Rick Scott of Florida, Ron Johnson of Wisconsin and John Cornyn of Texas have not voted.

Thune could be seen speaking intermittently with Lee, Scott and Johnson on the Senate floor. Cornyn did not appear to be on the Senate floor. 

With support from the four Republicans, the measure would advance. 

The Senate is now voting on whether to advance the House-passed continuing resolution. 

The measure has failed to reach a 60-vote threshold 14 times. Three senators have repeatedly crossed the aisle to vote with Republicans. But Republicans need five more Democrats to vote with them to move the bill forward. 

This time, the vote marks a key change, with a GOP plan to amend the bill should it advance to attach a trio of longer-term appropriations bills that were released Sunday. The vote is widely viewed as a key to unlocking the deal to end the shutdown. 

Schumer railed against Republicans for refusing to engage with Democrats on the health care issue during the shutdown, while pledging to continue the fight on health care.

"I must vote no — this health care crisis is so severe, so urgent, so devastating for families back home that I cannot in good faith support this CR that fails to address the health care crisis," Schumer said on the Senate floor.

He added, "however this vote turns out, this fight will and must continue."

"America is in the midst of a Republican-made health care crisis worse than anything the American people have seen in decades," Schumer said.

 "Democrats have been fighting to end this crisis over and over again," he continued. 

"On Friday, we offered Republicans a compromise, a proposal that would extend the ACA tax credits for a year and open up the government at the same time," he said. "They once again said no."

Schumer said when Republicans "said no on our compromise, they showed that they are against any health care reform."

Sen. Angus King, a Maine independent who caucuses with Democrats, outlined why the deal came together after the Senate Democrats' caucus meeting, telling reporters what changed for some in the party was "the length of the shutdown."

"The question was, as the shutdown progresses, is a solution on the ACA becoming any more likely? It appears not," King said. "And I think people are saying we're not going to get what we want, although we still have a chance, because part of the deal is a vote on the ACA subsidies."

King said, "in the meantime, a lot of people are being hurt."

Sen. Tim Kaine said Sunday that he will vote in favor of the negotiated deal that could lead to the end of the shutdown and reopen the government.

"I have long said that to earn my vote, we need to be on a path toward fixing Republicans' health care mess and to protect the federal workforce," the Democratic senator from Virginia said in a statement shared on social media. "This deal guarantees a vote to extend Affordable Care Act premium tax credits, which Republicans weren't willing to do. Lawmakers know their constituents expect them to vote for it, and if they don't they could very well be replaced at the ballot box by someone who will."

He continued that the negotiated deal would protect federal workers from "baseless firings, reinstate those who have been wrongfully terminated during the shutdown, and ensure federal workers receive back pay."

Arriving back at the White House from the Commanders game, Mr. Trump told reporters that "it looks like we're getting close to the shutdown ending."

"You'll know very soon," he added. 

Senate Democrats emerged from their caucus meeting after more than two hours. Many would not answer questions about how they planned to vote on advancing the House-passed funding measure, expected later Sunday, though a handful said they would vote against it. 

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer told reporters he would vote no. Sens. Reuben Gallego and Elizabeth Warren also said they will vote against it.

A deal has been reached in the Senate, with at least eight Democrats prepared to vote in favor of a negotiated deal, a source familiar with the deal told CBS News. The deal, led by Sens. Angus King of Maine, and Jeanne Shaheen and Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire, has been reached with Senate Majority Leader John Thune and the White House, the source said. 

The deal includes a vote on a bill of Democrats' choosing regarding the Affordable Care Act, with an agreement to hold a vote on the issue by the end of the second week of December. Democrats have sought to extend health insurance tax credits under the ACA

The deal also includes a reversal of all shutdown reduction in force notices, or layoffs, that occurred during the shutdown, the source said, and extends the stopgap funding measure through January, among other things. 

As Senate Democrats met ahead of a possible vote to end the shutdown, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said in a statement Sunday night that House Democrats would not support legislation that doesn't extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits that have been at the heart of the shutdown fight.

"As a result of the Republican refusal to address the healthcare crisis that they have created, tens of millions of everyday Americans are going to see their costs skyrocket. Many will not be able to afford a doctor when they or their children need one," Jeffries wrote.

"America is far too expensive. We will not support spending legislation advanced by Senate Republicans that fails to extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits," he added.

Sen. Bernie Sanders, a Vermont independent, told reporters when asked about the emerging deal that "it would be a horrific mistake to cave in to Trump right now."

"The American people cannot afford a doubling of their health care premiums," he said as he headed into the caucus meeting. "They can't afford to lose their Medicaid, which 15 million people would. And essentially, if Democrats cave on this issue, what it will say to Donald Trump is that he has a green light to go forward toward authoritarianism."

Sanders added, "That would be a tragedy for this country."

"I think it would be a policy and political disaster for the Democrats to cave," he said. 

Senate Democrats entered a caucus meeting Sunday evening, with many moderates remaining tight-lipped about their posture on the possible vote on advancing the House-passed continuing resolution later this evening. Republicans need five more Democrats to cross the aisle to move forward. 

Senate appropriators released the third and final bill as part of a package of full-year funding bills, which would fund the legislative branch.

Earlier in the day, appropriators released bills to fund military construction and the Department of Veterans Affairs, along with the FDA and the Department of Agriculture. 

The package of bills, known as a "minibus," is part of a GOP plan to end the shutdown. Under the strategy, the chamber would vote on advancing the House-passed continuing resolution before amending it to include the full-year funding measures, as well as a longer extension of government funding. The plan also includes an agreement to vote on a pre-determined date on an extension of health insurance tax credits that Democrats have sought. 

Senators expected to be given time to read over the minibus text before the chamber would proceed to a vote on the stopgap funding measure as early as Sunday evening. The measure would require 60 votes to advance, making support from Democrats necessary to move forward. 

Senate Democrats are set to gather for a caucus meeting at 5 p.m. this evening, two sources familiar told CBS News. 

The meeting comes as Thune said he plans for a vote Sunday on advancing a House-passed continuing resolution, with a plan to amend the measure to include a package of full-year appropriations bills as part of a deal to reopen the government. The procedural vote would require support from a number of Democrats. The measure has fallen short of the 60-vote threshold 14 times. 

Senate appropriators released the second of three full-year appropriations bills that are set to be part of a funding package that comes as part of a deal aimed at ending the shutdown. The bill would fund the FDA and the Department of Agriculture and comes after appropriators released a bill that would fund military construction and the Department of Veterans Affairs earlier in the day. 

The release of components of the funding package, known as a "minibus," marks a major development as Senate Republicans pursue a strategy to attach the full-year funding measures to a stopgap measure to reopen the government. 

Senate appropriators on Sunday released the first of three bills expected as part of a package of full-year funding bills, which would fund military construction and the Department of Veterans Affairs.

The 92-page bill is part of a plan to end the impasse that began to materialize in recent days. The other two bills are expected to fund the legislative branch, along with the FDA and the Department of Agriculture.

Thune is pursuing a strategy that would involve voting to advance the House-passed continuing resolution and amending it to include the minibus, as well as a longer extension of government funding. He told reporters he's planning to hold a vote as soon as Sunday to begin that process.

Senators are expected to be given time to read the appropriations bills before a vote would be held. 

Thune told reporters as he headed into the Senate chamber that "the deal is coming together."

"We'll see kind of where the votes are," he said. "This kind of stuff can drag on indefinitely if you allow it to."

The majority leader told reporters earlier that the chamber plans to vote today on the House-passed funding measure that's part of a plan to reopen the government, along with passing a handful of year-long funding measures. The measure would require support from Democrats to move forward. 

The Senate convened at 1:30 p.m. No votes are currently scheduled, but votes remain possible. Thune told reporters "we plan to vote today" to advance the House-passed continuing resolution, assuming the text of the three-bill appropriations package is released.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune told reporters as he entered the Capitol that "we plan to vote today" to advance the House-passed continuing resolution, assuming the text of the three-bill appropriations package is released. 

The measure, which has fallen short of the 60-vote threshold needed to move forward 14 times, is expected to be amended to include the minibus, as well as a longer extension of government funding.

Senators have begun arriving at the Capitol before the chamber convenes for a rare Sunday session.

Sen. Mike Rounds, a South Dakota Republican, told reporters he thinks appropriators are close to releasing the text of the minibus. A vote could follow. 

"There's been a lot of negotiations and at some point, there's not much more you can do except have a vote," Rounds said. "And I think we're pretty close to that point."

The Sunday session of the Senate will mark the second time this year that senators have met on a Sunday, according to a list compiled by the chamber's secretary.

The last Sunday meeting was on June 29, when the Senate worked through the weekend and into a scheduled recess to pass President Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill Act. 

This session will be the 70th Sunday session the Senate has held since 1861, according to the secretary's list.

Virginia Gov.-elect Abigail Spanberger said on "Face the Nation" that the government needs to "open immediately." She urged lawmakers to vote in favor of ending the shutdown and called on President Trump to "demonstrate leadership" by bringing people together on negotiations — whether it's before or after the shutdown ends.

Asked whether the Democrats' sweep in key races last week, including her victory in Virginia, should be viewed as permission to hold the line in Congress and refuse to fold from their shutdown position, Spanberger said "absolutely not." She said "the entirety of Virginia's economy is impacted by the shutdown," with a high number of federal workers. 

"Virginians need to and Virginians want to see the government reopen," she said. "And my expectation is that we will see a Congress, a Senate, and ultimately a president, driving us in that direction."

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore outlined his stance on the shutdown on "Face the Nation," saying that his message to Democrats in Congress is "we need to ensure that reopening the government does not mean kicking my people off of health care."

"I don't think that anybody, whether in Western Maryland or any part of my state, would say, 'yes, it's okay if you just watch my healthcare go away,'" Moore added. 

The Democratic governor acknowledged that "our people are hurting, and they're hurting because of these games that we continue to see from Washington, D.C." 

"I want the government reopened now," Moore said, adding that no state is feeling the impact of the shutdown more than Maryland due to the high number of federal workers. "But I also know that saying that a prerequisite for having the federal government open shouldn't be kicking up premiums by 90% by kicking people off of health care."

Moore urged that Republicans "can get this deal done by just simply making a phone call, but they're allowing this pain to exist."

Director of the National Economic Council Kevin Hassett said on "Face the Nation" that the U.S. economy could see a "negative quarter" if the shutdown continues.

Hassett noted that the time around Thanksgiving "is one of the hottest times of the year for the economy," pointing to Black Friday shopping and air travel. "And if people aren't traveling at that moment, then we really could be looking at a negative quarter for the fourth quarter," he said.

Hassett outlined the shutdown's impact on the economy more broadly.

"Goldman Sachs, they have a top economic team, and they're estimating that we've already knocked about 1.5% off of GDP," he said. "I think that number is probably low if we keep going even a couple more weeks, because there's going to be a massive amount of air disruption, especially around the holidays."

Director of the National Economic Council Kevin Hassett said President Trump is "brainstorming" on Obamacare with his recent flurry of social media posts on the Affordable Care Act, in which he urged Senate Republicans to redirect funds from insurance companies straight to the American people.

"The president is, you know, a beautiful tactician, a beautiful negotiator," Hassett said on "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan."

Hassett added that Mr. Trump is "brainstorming and trying to help the Senate come up with a deal that can get the government open."

"Conservatives believe that they don't want the government to micromanage people's lives, and everybody believes that people should have health care," Hassett said. "And so why not take the people who have higher health care premiums and just mail them a check and let them decide."

Hassett said he didn't think the issue had been widely discussed in the Senate yet.

"As of right now it's not the Senate position," he said. "But the President thought it was something they should think about."

Republican Sen. James Lankford of Oklahoma said Sunday that he thinks the government will be open by Thanksgiving as more than 1,500 flights were canceled on Saturday and thousands more were delayed. Thanksgiving is one of the busiest travel times of the year.

The government "absolutely needs" to be open by Thanksgiving, Lankford said on "Meet the Press," adding that it "needs to be open today if we can get it open."

But Lankford said that Republicans "have hoped that we've been close for a very long time." 

"This shutdown was really about Democrats saying they want to show their resistance to President Trump," Lankford said. "They want to show they're fighting. They want to be able to energize their base."

Democratic Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer over the weekend proposed a one-year extension of Affordable Care Act subsidies, but President Trump has suggested getting rid of the ACA entirely and giving money directly to people, instead of insurance companies.

But Lankford said "right now Obamacare is health care in America," and "the challenge is what we have now has to be fixed."

As Mr. Trump has insisted Senate Republicans need to focus on doing away with the filibuster, Lankford said "we should not get rid of the filibuster," but he conceded there have been "different forms" of the filibuster that could be reviewed.

"What's unique about the filibuster and about the United States Senate, it's the only place in our government where both sides have to talk to each other," Lankford said. "That's a good thing for America."

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said Sunday that House Democrats would be unlikely to support a promise to vote on extension of health insurance tax credits as part of a deal to reopen the government. Senate Majority Leader John Thune has offered to hold a vote on a pre-determined date, and the idea has been part of bipartisan talks in the Senate aimed at finding an offramp to end the shutdown. 

"I don't think that the House Democratic caucus is prepared to support a promise, a wing and a prayer, from folks who have been devastating the health care of the American people for years," Jeffries said on NBC's "Meet the Press."

Jeffries outlined his support for a one-year extension of the tax credits, which Senate Democrats proposed Friday in exchange for reopening the government. Jeffries had previously opposed the idea, but said Sunday that Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer's proposal was "was offered in good faith," while noting that it "provides a path toward bipartisan negotiations for a multi-year extension."

New Jersey Gov.-elect Mikie Sherrill, a Democrat who currently represents the state's 11th district in Congress, stressed in an interview this weekend that the importance of ending the government shutdown "in a way that's going to stop punishing the American people." 

"It is truly hurting the economy, and you can't justify the damage," Sherrill said in an interview that aired Sunday on "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan. "Which is why the president and the Senate and the Republican majority in the House need to get this government open."

Sherrill, a House Democrat and former U.S. Navy pilot, ran a gubernatorial campaign focused on driving down everyday costs for New Jersey residents.

"I think what we saw with this election is the American people really demanding that our federal government operate in a way that's going to stop punishing them economically," she told Brennan, adding that she intends to push for lower prices in her own state as well as in Washington. 

Sherill said she plans to "fight for Washington to address things like the tariff program, which is raising costs and everything from a cup of coffee to groceries, to fight the 'One Big Beautiful Bill,' which is continuing to raise costs on education and innovation, housing, health care, to continue to fight this government shutdown so that we can really address health care needs here in the state."

In posts on Truth Social Sunday morning, President Trump continued to criticize the Affordable Care Act, after urging Republicans to redirect funds from insurance companies straight to the American people.

"OBAMACARE 'SUCKS.' THE WORST HEALTHCARE FOR THE HIGHEST PRICE," the president said in one post. 

In a Truth Social post on Saturday morning, President Trump indicated that he wanted Senate Republicans to end the Affordable Care Act, urging that the money used to fund the program should be sent directly to members of the American public instead of "money sucking Insurance Companies in order to save the bad Healthcare provided by ObamaCare."

"PAY THE PEOPLE,  NOT THE INSURANCE COMPANIES!" Mr. Trump said in another post Sunday.

Republicans have heavily criticized the Affordable Care Act since it became law in 2010. On Saturday, following the president's post, GOP senators spent the afternoon railing against the Affordable Care Act on the Senate floor, while some urged Democrats to vote to reopen the government so the chamber can negotiate broader changes to the health insurance industry.

The Senate adjourned for the day just before 5 p.m. Eastern Time Saturday following an approximately 5-hour session, but is scheduled to reconvene at 1:30 p.m. on Sunday. 

Senate Republicans will gather for a 12:30 p.m. conference meeting on Sunday, according to a source familiar.

GOP Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin provided an update on his efforts to pass a bill to pay federal workers during a shutdown. The bill failed to attract support from enough Democrats to advance in a floor vote on Friday. 

"Unfortunately, the other side wouldn't agree to get on the bill," Johnson said.

He added: "We immediately went into discussions. Literally about an hour ago, I thought I had a deal, where at least the primary objector of the Shutdown Fairness Act was not going to object. We've hit some snags, so unfortunately I don't think in today's session we'll be able to offer that for a unanimous consent request. But I do want to tell my colleagues we're still working hard."

A spokesperson for Senate Majority Leader John Thune said the Senate will not vote today. The Senate is expected to reconvene Sunday, with the goal of voting on a funding measure. 

In a sign of how roundly the GOP has rejected the Democrats' proposal to extend health care subsidies, Republicans have spent the afternoon railing against the Affordable Care Act on the Senate floor, painting the 15-year-old law as the main driver of the high cost of health care.

Earlier speeches by Thune and Graham set the tone. Since then, a procession of GOP senators have highlighted various aspects of the health care debate, including multimillion-dollar pay packages for health executives, the stock performance of insurance companies and the tens of billions of dollars that those firms would stand to receive if the tax credits are extended.

"We're giving insurance companies $40 million a day of stipends from the ACA, from Obamacare, taxpayer money," said Sen. Roger Marshall of Kansas, echoing Thune in calling the tax credits "Biden Obamacare bonuses." "These dollars are funneled straight into the coffers of big insurance cartels through Obamacare subsidies, all the while they deny claims."

Republicans have heavily criticized the Affordable Care Act since it became law in 2010, but have never put forward a comprehensive plan to replace the system it established. Multiple GOP senators urged Democrats to vote to reopen the government so the chamber can negotiate broader changes to the health insurance industry.

Schumer criticized Republicans for quickly shooting down Democrats' proposal on Friday, railing against the GOP on the Senate floor. 

"Yesterday, we offered Republicans a perfectly reasonable compromise to get out of this horrible shutdown that they installed on the American people," Schumer said. "We offered three things: we all vote to reopen the government, we all approve a one-time temporary extension of current ACA premium tax credits, and then after we reopen we negotiate."

The New York Democrat said "I know many Republicans stormed out the gate to dismiss this offer, but that's a terrible mistake."

Thune shot down the offer Friday, not long after it was made, saying the tax credit extension is at the center of the negotiation that would take place after the shutdown. Republicans have long told Democrats they would not negotiate on health insurance demands until the government reopens.

"That's what we're going to negotiate once the government opens up," Thune said Friday.

Schumer argued Saturday that since the offer "is not a new policy, this is not negotiating in a shutdown."

"It's simply agreeing to maintain current funding levels," he said. "A one-year extension is something many Republicans themselves have said they want."

Minority Leader Chuck Schumer spoke on the floor to criticize the Trump administration for its decision to ask the Supreme Court to freeze a court order that directed it to make full SNAP payments for November, as well as air traffic reductions that have canceled thousands of flights across the country.

"For this administration to go all the way to the Supreme Court just to get out of having to pay SNAP benefits for hungry kids is pathological levels of vindictiveness," Schumer said. "This crisis is in the administration's hands. It's all them. Not anyone else. The minute the administration wanted to, it could find a fix for SNAP and ensure that people don't go hungry, but they're not choosing to act."

The Democratic leader said the flight cuts are unnecessary and an attempt by the administration to pressure Democrats.

"What's happening at America's airports right now is not an accident. It's a stunt. Look at the way the order was designed: 4% of flights canceled yesterday at 40 major airports, with plans to ramp up day to day until it hits 10% and maybe 20," he said. "How much more transparently political can you get? This isn't about safety. It's about politics masquerading as safety."

Schumer argued that the administration could find money to pay air traffic controllers if it wanted to.

Sen. Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican and close ally of the president, touted President Trump's call to overhaul Obamacare, which he made in a Truth Social post earlier Saturday. Graham said Republicans will not vote to extend health care tax credits under the Affordable Care Act.

"We're not going to extend this program for a year because that would be unfair to the taxpayer. That would continue a health care system that's out of control," Graham said on the Senate floor. "It would enrich health insurance companies even more. We're not going to do that. We're going to replace this broken system with something that is actually better for the consumer to meet the goal of lowering health care costs."

Graham said "terrorizing the public is not going to get us, as Republicans, to continue a very bad health care bill," though he added Republicans and the president are willing to talk with Democrats "about how getting better value is possible, how lower premiums [are] possible."

"But you've got to change the fundamental precept of Obamacare," he said.

The South Carolina Republican congratulated the president for getting "into the game today," saying "he's given us a pathway forward. I am going to heed his advice and counsel."

Graham said he spoke with the president this morning. He said Mr. Trump would "like to sit down and see if we can come up with a better solution."

"I know we can, but we're not going to do it while the government's shut down," he said.

Graham urged Democrats to "end this madness."

"To my Democratic colleagues, let's open up the government and act like adults and see if we can get this problem in a better spot," he said. "We'll never do it with the government shut down."

Thune told reporters that the GOP conference is working to finalize the text of the "minibus," or the package of three appropriations bills that Republicans hope will entice moderate Democrats to vote to advance the continuing resolution that would reopen the government. He said the text of the package should be released soon.

"The question is whether we can have everything ready to go, and I've been talking all morning with some of the folks that are involved with the mini and I think we're getting close to having it ready," he said. "We just need to get the text out there. But, you know, it'd be, ideally, it'd be great to set it up so we could vote today, but we've got to have the votes to actually pass it. So we'll see how the day goes, and as people have an opportunity to firm up their views when the text is out there, then I think we'll know with better certainty."

In terms of timing, Thune declined to specify when the chamber might try to take up the package, but didn't rule out a vote later today.

Thune told reporters after speaking on the Senate floor that the chamber will stay in town until the government is reopened, suggesting they could forgo their planned Veterans Day recess this coming week. 

When asked if he was still considering sending senators home for the recess, Thune said "no," adding that "we're going to vote on the minibus," though he said there isn't a definitive timeframe for the package of appropriations bills. First, Republicans have to release the text, Thune said. 

"Are you going to stay in until the government is reopened?" a reporter asked.

"Yeah," Thune replied.

Thune took to the floor and reiterated his opposition to Democrats' offer to reopen the government in exchange for an extension of health care subsidies. He recounted the history of Obamacare and framed the subsidies as a Democratic effort to alleviate high prices caused by the Affordable Care Act. 

"They created this cliff, and now they want to blame Republicans for their break. Give me a break," the South Dakota Republican said. "The Democrats' proposal is just more of the same: masking rising premiums and padding insurance companies' profits with more taxpayer dollars." 

He referred to the tax credits that Democrats are seeking to extend as "Biden bonuses." And he said Minority Leader Chuck Schumer's proposal is "a nonstarter," adding that "there's still only one path out — it's a clean funding extension."

"We reopen, and then we can start talking about addressing the health care mess that Democrats created," Thune said. 

The majority leader said he was "glad to see that after 38 days, Democrats are finally warming up to the idea that their shutdown can't go on forever."

"And I urge my colleagues to support a clean continuing resolution so we can start a real discussion to address their health care mess, get back to the regular appropriations process and, above all, finally provide relief to the American people," he added.

Today's session of the Senate is the fourth time this year that senators have met on a Saturday, according to a list compiled by the chamber's secretary.

The most recent Saturday meeting was on Aug. 2, when the Senate took 15 votes on a variety of legislation and nominations to clear the decks ahead of the August recess. Before that, senators met on June 28 to work on advancing the president's One Big Beautiful Bill Act. They also convened for three hours on Jan. 25 to consider a pair of Cabinet nominations.

The Senate has held 129 Saturday sessions since 1968, including today's, according to the secretary's list.

The Senate convened at noon with an invocation from the chamber's chaplain and the pledge of allegiance.

No votes are currently scheduled, but a notice from Majority Whip John Barrasso's office said votes are "possible" during the Saturday session.

Bipartisan talks to reach an agreement to end the shutdown are expected to continue Saturday after Republicans rejected an offer from Democrats Friday to reopen the government in exchange for a one-year extension of health insurance tax credits. 

Thune told CBS News the offer is a "nonstarter," stressing that there is a proposal on the table that a group of bipartisan senators have been circling.

"We need to vote to open the government. And there is a proposal out there to do that, and then we can have this whole conversation about health care," Thune said. 

The contours of the deal to end the stalemate began emerging earlier this week, with a possible agreement that would fund the government alongside long-term appropriations bills in exchange for a vote on extending health insurance tax credits that Democrats have demanded. But while some moderates have been eager to find a solution to reopen the government, others in the caucus appear emboldened by the party's sweep in key races in Tuesday's elections, pushing to hold out longer in the shutdown fight in an effort to extract further concessions.

Though Senate GOP leaders planned to move ahead with a vote on the continuing resolution Friday, with a plan to amend the bill to include the full-year funding measures if it advanced, the vote never materialized. Instead, Senate Republicans tried to advance a measure to pay federal workers who are working during the shutdown on Friday, which failed to reach the 60-vote threshold, picking up support from just three Democrats. 

Whether the chamber votes Saturday remains to be seen.

"We'll see if something comes together that we can vote on," Thune told reporters Friday night. 

In a Truth Social post on Saturday morning, President Trump said he was recommending Senate Republicans end the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare.

He said the money used to fund the program should be sent directly to members of the American public instead of "money sucking Insurance Companies in order to save the bad Healthcare provided by ObamaCare."

"In other words, take it from the BIG, BAD Insurance Companies, give it to the people," Mr. Trump wrote. 

Mr. Trump criticized the ACA as "the worst Healthcare anywhere in the World." He added that Congress "must still terminate the Filibuster!"

Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson on Friday froze, for now, a lower court order that required the Trump administration to swiftly provide full federal food benefits to roughly 42 million Americans.

The order from Jackson is temporary. She said it will give a federal appeals court more time to consider whether to provide the Trump administration with longer emergency relief while an appeal in the dispute over payments for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program moves forward. 

The Supreme Court's late-stage intervention came as the Trump administration closed in on an end-of-day deadline, set by a district court judge Thursday, to cover in full food assistance for November and use roughly $4 billion for other nutrition programs to do so. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 1st Circuit had temporarily left in place the lower court's decision, after which the Justice Department sought emergency relief from the Supreme Court.

Read more here.