John Thune Says the Senate Will Likely Have to Change the Date of the Funding Bill — And Quickly

Senate Majority Leader John Thune told reporters Monday that the Senate will have to amend the Republican-approved continuing resolution, as its end date — Nov. 21 — is rapidly approaching.

“The day is gonna have to change,” Thune told reporters.

The decision ends the “Groundhog Day” votes the Senate has taken since the start of the shutdown. Thune forced a vote on the House-passed CR 13 times, with the results remaining essentially unchanged — five Democrats short of the 60-vote threshold.

This means that new language for the CR will have to be ironed out and could give Democrats a new opportunity to make a deal to extend subsidies for the Affordable Care Act, which has been their top demand since the start of the shutdown. Republicans have been steadfast in saying they won’t negotiate on the subsidies while the government is shut down.

Thune said he was open to extending the date to January or beyond.

“The longer runway, the better,” he said.

“The idea that we could get any appropriations bills done by Nov. 21, now, that date is lost. So it’s a question now of what’s the next one.”

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson has been firm in his decision not to bring the House back in session until the Senate passes a CR. Amending the date would require the House approving the change after the Senate passes a new bill.

“We’re very mindful of the calendar,” Johnson told reporters Monday. “It’s part of the reason we’re so angry about this, because they are eating up the clock and Democrats know how much more we have to do here this year.”

Senate Democratic leadership isn’t committing to any new date, but Minority Whip Dick Durbin was optimistic that a deal to reopen the government could be on the way given the need to pass a new date for the CR, but didn’t mention specifics.

“I’ve talked to a couple of my colleagues on the Democratic side who are in conversation. They tried before and it didn’t work, and now they’re trying again, and they seem more optimistic,” Durbin told reporters Monday.

Correction: This story and headline have been corrected to reflect that the Senate will have to change the date of the Republican CR.