US politics – Congress matters

Senate Majority Leader John Thune said he was “optimistic” an agreement can be reached this week to end the five-week shutdown as bipartisan rank-and-file talks make progress. Thune, speaking to reporters, said the goal was to be able to send a revised stopgap bill to the House by the end of the week to reopen agencies. “Obviously there were a lot of conversations over the weekend, and hopefully that will bring about the desired result,” Thune said. The Senate is expected to extend the Nov. 21 expiration date of the House-passed funding punt for at least several more weeks. Thune previously told POLITICO that the deadline would need to be extended to at least January, but he hasn’t yet endorsed a specific timeline. GOP leaders are discussing a new deadline that would fall between late January and March. Thune said on Monday that he is “open” to January but in listening mode as he faces competing demands within his conference. “The longer sort of runway there is better,” he said. The bipartisan group of rank-and-file senators has been discussing how to package a short-term funding patch that would reopen the government with a plan to move full-year funding bills and give Democrats a vote on soon-to-expire Affordable Care Act subsidies. Senators involved in the talks believe they are making progress, and while Thune said he was personally “optimistic” a shutdown off-ramp could be imminent, he said he wasn’t yet “confident.” Republicans are hoping that more Democrats will signal they are ready to end the shutdown after Tuesday’s off-year elections, including closely watched governor races in New Jersey and Virginia. Democrats say it isn’t the elections that are influencing their thinking but rather the pain that has been inflicted on Americans, including expected delays in federal food aid this month. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) told reporters Monday he also sensed senators are getting closer to an exit strategy but said he wasn’t yet sure what that would be. Democrats have demanded negotiations on health care and so far have rejected the offer of a vote absent a bipartisan deal.

It’s the first public offering on health care policy since the government shutdown began.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune said Monday there’s not enough support among Republican senators to eliminate the filibuster as President Donald Trump ramps up pressure to change the chamber’s rules to allow the simple-majority passage of legislation. “The votes aren’t there,” Thune told reporters. Thune said he had spoken to Trump about the issue — he didn’t specify when — and questioned whether his campaign against the filibuster should come as a surprise. Trump, during his first term as president, repeatedly pushed for Republicans to nix the 60-vote threshold for most legislation. But he renewed his call late last week as the government shutdown entered its fifth week, with Senate Democrats still opposed to a House-passed stopgap spending bill. GOP senators and senior Republican aides quickly batted down Trump’s demand. But the president continued pushing over the weekend on social media and an interview with CBS’ “60 Minutes.” “TERMINATE THE FILIBUSTER, NOT JUST FOR THE SHUTDOWN, BUT FOR EVERYTHING ELSE,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.

Sen. James Lankford is warning that the prolonged shutdown could soon threaten the health care coverage of federal employees. In a letter sent Oct. 30 to Office of Personnel Management Director Scott Kupor, the Oklahoma Republican expressed concern that agencies are no longer contributing to trust funds that are managed by OPM and used to pay for government workers’ health insurance. “Despite many efforts to reopen the government and pay federal workers, vital agencies remain closed, employees’ paychecks continue to be withheld and now access to healthcare for every federal employee and their families could be threatened,” Lankford wrote in the letter, first obtained by POLITICO. “The men and women who serve our nation should not face uncertainty about their paychecks or their health coverage because of political obstruction in the Senate.” It’s unclear how soon the lapse in agency contributions towards the fund could impair OPM’s ability to pay for federal workers’ health insurance. As part of the largest employer-sponsored health insurance program in the world — the Federal Employee Health Benefits program, or FEHB — OPM is statutorily authorized to contract with private insurers and pay premiums on behalf of the federal workers, with the government generally funding around 75 percent of those premiums. Within the FEHB, OPM tracks the finances for each health insurance plan separately and maintains contingency reserves for each plan, which are used to offset unexpected premium increases. But as the Senate heads into the sixth week of a government shutdown, Lankford says these reserves and their potential depletion could become a more significant issue. A spokesperson for OPM did not immediately respond to a request for comment. One Senate Republican aide, granted anonymity to speak candidly, said Republicans could use this dynamic as a point of leverage against Democrats, who have been insisting on an extension on expiring Obamacare subsidies as they hold out support for ending the shutdown. “While Democrats claim they are protecting health care, their decision to keep the government closed is threatening the very benefits they say they want to preserve,” said the aide. “The Senator is sending a letter to OPM to better understand how maintaining coverage during a funding lapse would work, and to offer support where it’s needed.” According to OPM, the combined balance of the FEHB and a similar program for certain retirees was around $25.4 billion at the end of fiscal year 2024. In his letter to Kupor, Lankford asked when the funds financing each respective insurance plan would hit zero and when insurers would be notified of the lapse in funds. Lankford also inquired if OPM knows of any legal options to continue paying employer-provided contributions for health care in the event the trust fund is emptied.

The head of the largest federal employees’ union talked with top Democratic congressional leaders about his organization’s calls for Democrats to shore up the votes to end the government shutdown. “I won’t get into individual conversations, but they’re very well aware of why I’ve taken the stance that I’ve taken,” AFGE president Everett Kelley said in an interview with POLITICO’s Dasha Burns. He was responding to the question of whether he had spoken to House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer or senior Hill Democrats about AFGE’s statement last week asking Democrats to pass the GOP-led government funding patch. The statement from the organization, which represents over 800,000 federal workers, made waves, and sparked speculation about whether Democrats were nearing a point where they would have to cave under the weight of mounting political pressure.Rank-and-file senators are engaged in bipartisan talksin an effort to break the logjam but they won’t be able to come to any agreement before Congress breaks the record Tuesday evening for the longest government shutdown in U.S. history. Senate Democrats are still seeking a deal on health care as a condition of lending their votes to reopen the government. Schumer told reporters last week he’d told Kelley “we can do both,” referring to both the fight for health care and for federal workers. Kelley demurred about whether his relationship with Schumer, Jeffries and others could be harmed by his union’s position. “Hopefully we are still friends and we’re still allies,” he said.

Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) announced Monday in a post on X that he married former congressional staffer Carolyn Moffa last month. Massie, whose wife passed away last year, said he and Moffa met more than a decade ago when she was a staffer for Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.). The pair were legally married in October and celebrated with friends and family at a ceremony over the weekend, where Paul and Reps. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) and Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) were in attendance, according to the post. “As Senator Paul’s Ag policy staffer until 2016, Carolyn was a very early proponent and practitioner of Making America Healthy Again,” Massie said in the post. “She even visited me and my late wife Rhonda on our grass-fed cattle farm several years ago. Carolyn has not previously been married.” The Republican representative — who is seeking reelection against a Trump-backed challenger in 2026 — said the newlyweds plan to reside on his farm in Kentucky and will travel between their home state and Washington for Massie’s congressional duties. Massie, a champion of the Make America Healthy Again movement, said in the post that he and Moffa served raw milk at the reception and margaritas made with peaches from their farm. According to Legistorm, Moffa worked as a staffer for Paul from 2011 to 2016, and then as a Maryland state manager for a Philadelphia-area distillery until 2017. “Please pray for us as Carolyn steps into the arena with me,” Massie wrote. “With her support, I look forward to continuing my fight for freedom for the great people of Kentucky. The marriage comes more than a year after the lawmaker’s late wife and high school sweetheart, Rhonda Massie, passed away. Massie announced her passing on social media in June 2024 without detailing the cause of death. “Yesterday my high school sweetheart, the love of my life for over 35 years, the loving mother of our 4 children, the smartest kindest woman I ever knew, my beautiful and wise queen forever, Rhonda went to Heaven,” Massie said in the post last year.

Speaker Mike Johnson said Monday that GOP leaders are discussing ways to deal with the rapidly approaching Nov. 21 expiration date of the continuing resolution that passed the House last month and is now stalled in in the Senate. Republican leaders are privately eyeing another stopgap into early 2026, as POLITICO has reported, which would be part of any deal to reopen the government. “We’re very mindful of the calendar. We’re very frustrated by that,” Johnson said at a news conference, adding that GOP leaders would meet soon to discuss options. Republicans have ramped up conversations about a new expiration date over the past week. GOP leaders in both the House and Senate are now eyeing sometime between Jan. 21 and March for the expiration of any deal to reopen the government. Senators are discussing a deal that could involved moving a package of funding bills alongside a new stopgap that would reopen government, along with a vote for Democrats on extending expiring health insurance subsidies. Those talks continued over the weekend, and while lawmakers feel they’re making progress, GOP leaders have made clear that they will not allow any full-year funding bills to advance without securing a deal to reopen the government first.

Fresh hints of progress toward ending the shutdown are surfacing in the Senate, as pressure points pile up and the federal funding lapse is set to become the longest ever come Tuesday night. Here’s what we’re watching as the Senate returns for Week 6 of the shutdown: A RAY OF HOPE — Bipartisan talks among rank-and-file senators appear to be headed in the right direction, according to four people granted anonymity to discuss the talks. The White House has warned it will not meet with Democrats until they open the government but Trump officials are in touch with the Republican senators involved in the talks, according to two of the people. Several senators are having across-the-aisle conversations, including Sens. Angus King, Maggie Hassan, Jeanne Shaheen, Susan Collins, Katie Britt and Lisa Murkowski. PAIN POINTS — Millions of low-income Americans are losing access to food aid after SNAP funding lapsed this weekend. A federal judge is ordering the Trump administration to restore funding this week. Fallout from the looming expiration of Obamacare subsidies is also beginning to land across the country. Open enrollment on most Affordable Care Act state marketplaces and the federal exchange began Saturday, greeting consumers with sticker shock. Some enrollees in New Jersey will see out-of-pocket premiums rise more than 175 percent, while some in Colorado will see a 101 percent increase. TRUMP NEEDLES — Trump is continuing to prod Republicans into getting rid of the filibuster, even after GOP leaders gently pushed back. Trump pressured Republicans in Truth Social posts Saturday and Sunday night, warning that they, “will rue the day that you didn’t TERMINATE THE FILIBUSTER!!!” On Sunday he said they should “TERMINATE THE FILIBUSTER, NOT JUST FOR THE SHUTDOWN, BUT FOR EVERYTHING ELSE.” In a “60 Minutes” interview recorded Friday and airing Sunday, he addressed Senate Majority Leader John Thune’s resistance to the idea: “I like John Thune, I think he’s terrific but I disagree with him on that point.” ELECTION DAY — Both parties are watching the outcomes in Virginia and New Jersey’s gubernatorial elections Tuesday night, as well as the New York City mayor’s race and California’s redistricting referendum. Some Republicans including Thune see a potential inflection point for Democrats after Tuesday. “They’re going to wait till after the election on Tuesday,” said Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R.-Okla.). “And then they’re looking for an exit ramp.” What else we’re watching:    — War powers resolution: Sens. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) and Tim Kaine (D-Va.) could force a vote as soon as this week on a war powers resolution, amid concerns that the Trump administration may ramp up its strikes around Venezuela and possibly within the country. — Gamblers tax relief: A bipartisan group of senators is looking to give gamblers some tax relief, after Republicans curtailed a key deduction in the megabill Trump signed this summer. Sen. Jacky Rosen, a Nevada Democrat, said that the “Finance Committee has been working on it” as well as members off the panel. Jordain Carney, Katherine Tully-McManus, Nicholas Wu, Benjamin Guggenheim and Calen Razor contributed to this report.

There’s no chance for Congress to resolve the shutdown and reopen the government before crossing the historic threshold Tuesday.

The Texas Republican said a “longer conversation” needs to be had before he could throw his support behind land strikes.

Both Senate Majority Leader John Thune and Speaker Mike Johnson poured cold water on the idea Friday.

The president wants the GOP to use the “nuclear option” as government shutdown drags on.

The Virginia Democrat used to be a reliable participant in bipartisan Senate talks. This time, he doesn’t see the point.

A key GOP appropriator spoke with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer Tuesday and again Thursday in rare bipartisan conversations involving the top Democrat as rank-and-file senators hunt for ways to end the 30-day government shutdown. Sen. Katie Britt (R-Ala.), who chairs the Appropriations subcommittee on Homeland Security, confirmed she spoke to Schumer about “wanting to lay the foundation for us to be able to do our appropriations work.” Before the Thursday conversation, Britt met with Senate Majority Leader John Thune about appropriators’ push to move the three-funding bill minibus alongside a new stopgap through mid-December. Asked about the conversation later Thursday, Thune sidestepped a question about whether he asked Britt to speak to Schumer but offered general support for the bipartisan talks. “The solution here is not going to run through Schumer,” he said. Schumer met Thursday with members of his own caucus, including Sens. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), and Angus King (I-Maine), who have been in talks with Britt and other Republicans. Schumer did not respond to multiple questions Thursday about the funding talks. But rank-and-file Democrats who are involved are privately feeling cautiously optimistic about finding a path out of the shutdown as soon as next week, according to a person granted anonymity to disclose private discussions. Senators left the Capitol for the weekend after a Thursday afternoon vote and will return to session Monday evening.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune struck a cautionary note Thursday as bipartisan talks that could end the 30-day government shutdown kick into a higher gear, warning that a deal to advance full-year spending bills would move forward only after Democrats agree to a stopgap measure reopening federal agencies. Thune told reporters it would likely take days, if not weeks, for the Senate to pass a package of larger spending bills. “Even if you’ve got consent it’s still going to take a while to move those bills across the floor so we’ve got to reopen the government and then we’ll have a normal appropriations process,” he said. The comments come amid a new flurry of rank-and-file talks aimed at breaking the monthlong impasse. Part of those bipartisan discussions have focused on how to move fiscal 2026 spending bills, with some appropriators suggesting that a package of full-year-bills could advance as a show of good faith before the Senate passes a shutdown-ending stopgap. Senate Appropriations Chair Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Sen. Katie Britt (R-Ala.), who leads the Homeland Security subcommittee, met with Thune Thursday morning on a developing plan from appropriators to advance a three-bill package alongside a new stopgap running through mid-December, according to three people granted anonymity to describe the private conversation. A vote to extend expiring health insurance subsidies — a key Democratic shutdown demand — would likely be part of that, the people said. But GOP leaders are not keen on setting a December deadline. Thune has said any new stopgap needs to go into early 2026, giving lawmakers a realistic amount of time to write and pass new funding bills. Leaving his office after the meeting, Thune said he was “not ruling anything out” but reiterated “we’re going to need a longer date if we’re going to do approps bills.” Speaker Mike Johnson also rejected the idea Thursday of moving full-year bills before government reopens, with the top House leader saying at a news conference that Republicans “have one purpose, and that is, turning this thing back on.” “All those other efforts or deviations, it’s political games,“ he said. What Republican appropriators and others have been discussing, as POLITICO previously reported, is to quickly move two packages of spending bills once the government is reopened. The first would include the Agriculture-FDA, Military Construction-VA and Legislative Branch bills. The second would include the Defense and Labor-HHS measures, as well as potentially Transportation-HUD and Commerce-Justice-Science funding. Some senators have discussed potentially trying to attach the first package, which has already passed the Senate, to a stopgap bill. How soon any of this could come together remains a mystery. Republicans believe Democrats are on the cusp of agreeing to end the shutdown as soon as next week, and Thune, during a Thursday morning interview with CNBC, pointed to Tuesday’s off-year elections as a possible pivot point where the dynamic could shift on Capitol Hill. Notching a bipartisan appropriations deal, however, won’t address Democrats’ central shutdown demand: extending the expiring Affordable Care Act subsidies. Thune has offered Democrats a vote on the ACA subsidies as well as a meeting with President Donald Trump as soon as next week. But Democrats have called that insufficient, and some are starting to float a “working group” to address the issue. Thune left the door open Thursday to launching an ACA working group after the government reopens but warned that he’s “not a big fan of gangs.” Instead, he said, “I’m kind of a fan of regular order” — where committees with expertise in the matters being negotiated take the lead. But he acknowledged members of both parties are “interested” in a working group and said he’s “open” to the idea.

The shutdown vibes are shifting. As POLITICO first reported Wednesday, bipartisan Senate negotiations around reopening the government have ramped up over the past 36 hours. But it’s far from a done deal. Senate Majority Leader John Thune told POLITICO as he left the building Wednesday night that the conversations aren’t close enough that he expects the Senate to stay in town past Thursday. “There’s no great magic in how we get out of this,” says Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska). “It’s the same stuff we’ve been talking about for months.” Here’s what needs to be addressed as the shutdown enters what could be its home stretch: NEW DEADLINE — With Nov. 21 just three weeks away, lawmakers will have to extend the end-date for legislation to keep the government open. GOP leaders are eyeing a continuing resolution that would stretch somewhere between mid-January to March. FISCAL 2026 APPROPS BILLS — Appropriators would prefer an earlier CR deadline, as they keep hope alive for more comprehensive funding bills that would take up more of the federal fiscal year. Conversations continue around a potential agreement that would include a deal to advance a minibus encompassing agriculture, veterans and legislative branch funding, followed by a second package pairing defense funding with labor and health appropriations. Senators want to add funding bills covering transportation, housing, the Commerce Department and DOJ to that second package if they can get clearance from their members. Those could move as soon as next week if Congress is able to first reopen the government. RIFS AND RESCISSIONS — Democrats want commitments that the White House won’t continue mass firings of federal workers and that Republicans won’t seek further funding clawbacks through rescissions bills. Some Democrats involved in the talks tell us they believe enough Senate Republicans would oppose a rescissions package. But a Trump administration commitment on layoffs is a “different matter,” says Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.). “That is something that John Thune cannot pledge to me,” Kaine says. “I mean he would do it if he could, but that’s for the White House to pledge.” HEALTH CARE — Democrats haven’t yet accepted the GOP offer for an Obamacare subsidy vote after the government reopens, but those involved in negotiations tell us they believe progress is being made. A meeting with Trump to talk about subsidies is also on the table for as soon as next week. Some Democrats want a working group to address Affordable Care Act issues. Republicans are working on their own health care package for later this year that could include a possible ACA extension with new restrictions in preparation for bipartisan negotiations, as we’ve reported. One House Republican granted anonymity to share ongoing leadership discussions said “everything has been discussed” on what that package would even be attached to, but there are fewer options as time goes on. New Obamacare restrictions, such as income verification or income caps, are being considered, the member said. What else we’re watching: — Schumer dodges on Mamdani: With Election Day less than a week away and early voting already live in New York City’s mayoral race, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer is holding off on supporting Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani. “I have a good relationship with him, and we’re continuing to talk,” Schumer told reporters Wednesday, sidestepping a question about whether he’d vote for Mamdani. — Final straw for farm-state Republicans: Trump’s plans to import beef from Argentina has proved to be the breaking point for farm-state Republicans who have kept quiet for months about the toll of the administration’s sweeping tariffs. Meanwhile those frustrations are also playing out on the Senate floor this week on a series of votes to undo some of Trump’s global tariffs. And next week, the Supreme Court begins hearing oral arguments in a high-stakes challenge to Trump’s emergency tariff powers. — Ex-Im nominee withdraws: Bryce McFerran, Trump’s pick for a top position at the Export-Import Bank, has withdrawn from consideration after facing scrutiny from Democrats over his ties to Russian companies. The move comes ahead of a Senate Banking nomination hearing that was scheduled for Thursday. Meredith Lee Hill, Katherine Hapgood and Jasper Goodman contributed to this report.

In an interview for “The Conversation” with POLITICO’s Dasha Burns, the Texas Democrat said she’s “about to spend a lot of money” to poll her standing statewide.

President Donald Trump’s plan to import beef from Argentina has unleashed a wave of protest from GOP loyalists.

President Donald Trump’s pick for a top post at the U.S. Export-Import Bank withdrew his nomination on Wednesday after facing scrutiny from Democrats over his ties to Russian companies. Bryce McFerran, who was nominated to serve as first vice president and vice chair of the bank, reportedly worked for years as an executive at a Russian-owned steel company and has family ties through his wife’s relatives to the Kremlin. The Russian connections, first reported Wednesday by the Washington Post, drew scrutiny in recent weeks from the top Democrat on the Senate Banking Committee, Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, who pressed McFerran over potential conflicts of interest. White House spokesperson Kush Desai defended McFerran in a statement, saying that “his prior business interests have been fully researched, vetted, and cleared by the nonpartisan Office of Government Ethics – a fact that should deter the Fake News from continuing to perpetuate the debunked Russia, Russia, Russia hoax.” Desai added that McFerran withdrew from the nomination process on Oct. 27. He will remain in his current acting role as EXIM’s chief banking officer “until a permanent replacement is named in the coming weeks,” Desai said. The Export-Import Bank declined to comment. McFerran worked as an official at a Swiss subsidiary of the steel firm Evraz, which is co-owned by a Russian oligarch and was sanctioned by the British government in 2022. His father-in-law previously served in the Russian parliament and is now an aide to one of President Vladimir Putin’s advisers and an official at a Kremlin-backed investment fund, according to the Post. McFerran, a major GOP donor, gave nearly $1 million to support Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign, according to FEC records. Warren wrote in a letter to McFerran on Wednesday that his work for the Russian firm “raises significant questions about [his] judgment and [his] commitment to U.S. national security.” “Your history working at a key subsidiary of a UK-sanctioned Russian company in Switzerland raises questions about your ability to serve faithfully and effectively in these roles,” the Massachusetts Democrat wrote. The bank is the government’s official export credit agency and provides loans, loan guarantees and insurance in support of U.S. exporters. Prior to withdrawing his nomination, which was first reported by POLITICO, McFerran was scheduled to appear for a confirmation hearing before the Senate Banking Committee on Thursday.

Senate Republicans aren’t standing down in their investigation into the tactics Biden-era special counsel Jack Smith deployed as part of his probe into President Donald Trump’s efforts to subvert the 2020 presidential election results. Still smarting from recent revelations Smith obtained phone records for several GOP members of Congress around the time of the Jan. 6, 2021 attacks on the Capitol, Republican senators gathered Wednesday to announce the release of nearly 200 subpoenas Smith issued as part of his inquiry. Smith’s team requested communications with media companies — including conservative stalwarts Fox News and Newsmax — and correspondences with senior White House advisers — like Stephen Miller and Dan Scavino. Investigators sought information regarding fundraising and financial data for conservatives and conservative groups. Calling the Smith investigation worse than the 1970s political scandal that followed the break-in of the Democratic National Committee headquarters and ultimately toppled Richard Nixon, GOP senators at their press conference demanded accountability for the former Biden administration. “We should have Watergate style hearings on this for months,” said Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.). “If we’re ever going to root this out, we have to be serious about it, and consequences have to follow: resignations, firings, criminal prosecutions. You simply can’t in this country use the justice system to throw people in jail because they have a red jersey on or a blue jersey on.” Trump has come under fire for politicizing the Justice Department and encouraging Attorney General Pam Bondi to go after his adversaries. In recent weeks, New York Attorney General Letitia James — who brought a civil fraud case against the president — was indicted for mortgage fraud; former FBI director James Comey was charged with lying to Congress; and former national security adviser John Bolton was accused of mishandling classified documents. But Trump and allies are casting Smith’s investigation as an example of the political weaponization of President Joe Biden’s DOJ. Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), the chair of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, argued that the massive trove of documents revealed a “Biden administration enemies list.” Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) accused D.C. District Court Chief Judge James Boasberg of printing subpoenas at Smith’s behest “like the placemats at Denny’s, one after the other.” Senators also suggested the House should consider impeaching Boasberg, renewing calls for the judge’s removal for ruling against the president in a deportation case earlier this year. Senate Judiciary Chair Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), who is running point on the Smith investigation alongside Johnson, called the special counsel’s investigation “the vehicle by which FBI agents and DOJ prosecutors could improperly investigate the entire Republican political apparatus.” In a statement, Lanny Breuer, a lawyer for Smith, reiterated that the former special counsel was open to sharing details of his investigation with Congress. “As we informed congressional leaders last week, Jack is happy to discuss his work as Special Counsel and answer any questions at a public hearing just like every other Special Counsel investigating a president before him has done,” Breuer said. “We hope the House and Senate Judiciary Committees will agree so the American people can hear directly from him. Name the time and place. Jack will be there.”

The Senate on Wednesday shot down legislation to stop a Biden-era plan encouraging the killing of one species of owl to save another. The fight became bitter at times, pitting Louisiana Republican Sen. John Kennedy against some of his colleagues and Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, who support the killings. Kennedy forced a vote on a resolution under the Congressional Review Act to nix a Fish and Wildlife Service plan to save the native and critically endangered northern spotted owl in the Pacific Northwest by killing non-native barred owls. The legislation failed 25-72. “I can’t think of a rule … that better demonstrates the arrogance, the hubris, of the federal administrative state,” Kennedy said from the Senate floor before the vote, flanked by posters of owls and the rifle-carrying cartoon character Elmer Fudd. “This regulation is stupid and we will live to regret it.” The Congressional Review Act makes it easier for lawmakers to undo administration actions. Republicans have used it repeatedly against Biden rules. Kennedy said Burgum called him last week urging the senator to withdraw his resolution. Kennedy refused, saying the secretary should “call somebody who cared what he thought.” Kennedy in recent days repeatedly deployed his signature rhetorical barbs against Burgum and the Biden rule. He described the barred owl as having “very soulful eyes” and said Burgum was “mad as a mama wasp.” Kennedy also said the administration was using DEI for owls. The Trump administration is supporting the Biden-era action under pressure from loggers, who say scrapping the owl-killing rule could affect existing land-use plans — and, in turn, jeopardize GOP efforts to increase logging. Advocates have been split. Some animal rights advocates have sided with Kennedy, while other environmentalists have pointed to protecting the endangered spotted owl. Similar divisions were evident among senators and went well beyond party lines. “Killing a half-billion owls seems like a crazy thing for the government to be doing,” said Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), who voted for Kennedy’s resolution. But Environment and Public Works Chair Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), who voted against it, observed, “The Trump administration agrees with the Biden administration on this — how rare is that on this strategy? We’ve heard a lot from timber and some other folks.”

Senate Majority Leader John Thune said Wednesday he expects to engage “pretty soon” with a group of rank-and-file Senate Democrats about ending the 29-day-and-counting government shutdown. If a meeting happens, it would be a rare bipartisan gathering involving a top party leader. So far this month, Thune and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer have not met to discuss an exit path to the shutdown, leaving it to a small group of dealmaking members who have engaged in informal, on-and-off talks. Those conversations have heated up in recent days, members of both parties say, as major ramifications bear down including the possible lapse of federal food aid for 42 million Americans. “They’re looking for an off-ramp,” Thune told reporters. No meeting between the GOP leader and Democrats is on the books at this point, according to two people granted anonymity to discuss the sensitive situation. “What I told them all along is, as soon as they’re ready to open up the government, that we will ensure that they have a process whereby they can have the chance to get their legislation voted on, their policies voted on,” he added. “I think they’ve become more interested, and I hope that’s continues.” Thune made his comments after participating in an angry floor exchange with Democratic Sen. Ben Ray Luján of New Mexico, who sought to pass a patch for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program by unanimous consent. The normally mild-mannered South Dakota Republican boiled over at points as he lambasted Democrats over what he called a “cynical” ploy to extend food assistance without fully reopening the government. “You all have just figured out 29 days in that there might be some consequences,” he yelled. Thune tried to offer the House-passed continuing resolution instead, but Luján objected, and Thune ultimately blocked the legislation. “Sorry I channeled a little bit of anger there,” Thune told reporters leaving the floor, saying that allowing the SNAP patch to pass would extend the shutdown “another two or three weeks.”CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story misidentified what group Thune plans to meet with and incorrectly suggested he had a planned meeting with Senate Democrats.

Greene has doubled down on her critiques of the speaker and his team, with the shutdown now well into its fourth week.

The ongoing federal shutdown could cost the U.S. economy between $7 billion and $14 billion, according to a new report from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. The report, prepared in response to a request from House Budget Chair Jodey Arrington (R-Texas), estimated the economic impact of the shutdown if it lasts four weeks — a mark hit Wednesday — six weeks, or two months. Under all three scenarios, the CBO expects economic growth to be back on track after 2026, but some of the real gross domestic product loss resulting from furloughs of federal workers will not be recovered. That permanent loss could be anywhere from $7 billion, if the shutdown were to end now, and $14 billion, if it were to drag on for an additional month. The Trump administration has placed about 750,000 federal workers on furlough, and many more are currently working without pay, although their ability to claim back pay after the government reopens — a standard precedent under previous government shutdowns — appears uncertain. The CBO also anticipates that real GDP will be anywhere from 1 to 2 percentage points lower in the fourth quarter of 2025 than it would have been if the government remained open. “The effects of the shutdown on the economy are uncertain. Those effects depend on decisions made by the Administration throughout the shutdown,” CBO Director Phillip Swagel wrote in the report. The economic impacts of the shutdown will also be exacerbated when the federal government ceases disbursements of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits beginning Nov. 1, per the CBO. The Department of Agriculture, which administers the program in partnership with states, has decided not to tap emergency funds to keep food aid flowing amid the shutdown — a move being challenged by Democratic leaders of more than two dozen states. While a resolution to reopen the government remains elusive, Senate Majority Leader John Thune told POLITICO on Wednesday that talks to end the shutdown have “picked up.”

All employees of the House of Representatives were issued templates for letters Wednesday they can present to creditors before Friday, when they’re expected to miss their first paychecks — short of a sudden breakthrough in negotiations to end the government shutdown. “Employees affected by the government shutdown may face temporary hardship in meeting their financial obligations. This lapse in appropriations is expected to be a temporary situation and one that is beyond our employees’ control,” according to the letter prepared by the Office of the House Chief Administrative Officer and reviewed by POLITICO. “We appreciate your organization’s understanding and flexibility toward employees of the U.S. House of Representatives until this situation is resolved,” the letter continues. Capitol Hill employees are eligible to join the Congressional Federal Credit Union or the Senate Federal Credit Union, which are both offering interest-free loans — in some cases, up to $10,000 — for those who won’t receive paychecks until the government reopens. Hundreds of workers, from lawyers to laborers, have already applied. The Senate Federal Credit Union warns on its website that there is a “high volume” of applicants and they are processing the inquiries as quickly as possible. Katherine Tully-McManus contributed to this report.

GOP leaders want to keep pressure on Democrats for a full reopening of the federal government.

Nearly one month into the government shutdown, the vibes might finally be shifting. A looming cliff of crucial deadlines, plus fresh outside pressure, is adding new urgency into bipartisan conversations that have been sputtering for weeks. “I think they’ve picked up,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune told POLITICO about the rank-and-file bipartisan talks. “Deadlines have a way of doing that.” Several of Thune’s senators, plus Speaker Mike Johnson and other House GOP leaders, appear increasingly convinced that enough centrist Democrats are getting ready to fold — potentially by early next week. The looming cutoff of food benefits, air travel delays and a new statement from the largest union of federal employees calling on lawmakers to end the shutdown are bearing down, they believe. It’s worth noting: Democrats are not signaling publicly that they are ready to take an off-ramp. Asked what his plan was for ending the shutdown, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer told reporters Tuesday that he believes after Nov. 1 Republicans will face “increased pressure to negotiate with us.” But a growing number of Democrats, including liberal stalwarts like Sens. Dick Durbin (Ill.) and Elizabeth Warren (Mass.), have signaled support for stand-alone bills to ease shutdown impacts. Republican leaders are quietly ramping up their own internal conversations about what their next steps should be. So far, they’re talking about a new stopgap, with dozens of iterations under discussion. Options include a funding punt to around Jan. 21 or later into March, according to five people familiar with the conversations. White House officials want a funding punt as long as possible, potentially all the way through December 2026. GOP hard-liners like that idea but appropriators and defense hawks don’t. “Every option is fraught with a ton of problems,” one Republican told POLITICO. Thune told POLITICO that any stopgap expiring before the end of this year is a no-go. “Yeah, there’s no way we can do that by December. I think that’s the assessment just based on what the calendar looks like,” Thune said. Republicans have privately offered to Democrats that once the government is reopened, bipartisan spending bills will start moving — first a package of bills including Agriculture funding, and then a second package of bills that would include Defense and Labor-HHS. So far, though, this hasn’t been enough to get Democrats to bite. And none of this addresses Democrats’ key shutdown concern: health care. But Thune dangled a fresh carrot Tuesday, telling reporters that President Donald Trump would be willing to meet with them as soon as next week to talk about expiring Affordable Care Act subsidies — if the government is reopened. What else we’re watching:    — New record in Congress: Rep.-elect Adelita Grijalva has now waited to be sworn in longer than any other member in history. Wednesday marks day 36 since her special election victory on Sept. 23. The Arizona Democrat won’t be seated as long as Johnson keeps the House out of session — and Johnson insists his hands are tied due to the shutdown. — Potential year-end health package: House Majority Leader Steve Scalise has been discussing health care policy with the chairs of three critical House committees: Ways and Means’ Jason Smith (R-Mo.), Education and Workforce’s Tim Walberg (R-Mich.) and Energy and Commerce’s Brett Guthrie (R-Ky.). According to a person familiar with the ongoing informal conversations, Scalise is soliciting legislative ideas that could be incorporated in a year-end health package. Benjamin Guggenheim and Calen Razor contributed to this report.

Sen. Roger Marshall’s chief of staff, Brent Robertson, has taken at least 26 trips to Washington from his home in central Virginia.

The Senate once again rebuked President Donald Trump on tariffs, a vote that comes as the president is in Asia touting tariffs and notching progress on trade agreements. Senators on Tuesday voted 52-48 to terminate the national emergency Trump declared in order to impose 50 percent tariffs on most Brazilian goods in July. Five Republican Senators joined the Democrats in the vote: Thom Tillis (N.C.), Susan Collins (Maine), Lisa Murkowski (Alaska), Mitch McConnell (Ky.) and Rand Paul (Ky.), the measure’s co-sponsor. The vote — the first in a series of three expected resolutions aiming to block President Trump’s tariffs on Brazil and Canada as well as his widespread global tariffs — comes amid bubbling tension in the Senate over how Trump’s trade war has affected farmers and small businesses. Next week, the U.S. Supreme Court is set to hear oral arguments over whether Trump has overstepped his authority by using an emergency law to impose tariffs on nearly every country in the world. “Emergencies are like war, famine [and] tornadoes,” said Paul, the most vocal opponent of Trump’s tariffs in the Senate. “Not liking someone’s tariffs is not an emergency. It’s an abuse of the emergency power and it’s Congress abdicating their traditional role in taxes.” But the vote remains largely symbolic: Republican leaders in the House have blocked the chamber from voting to overrule the tariffs until January, protecting Republican members who are facing blowback from home state farmers and small businesses angry over the economic impact. Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), a co-sponsor on the Canada and global tariff resolutions, said he is hearing rising discontent among “Republican senators who go home and they just feel like they’re getting hit by a trade wrecking ball.” “People come up and say ‘the tariffs are killing us.’ You go to the grocery store and everybody’s up in arms,” continued Wyden, a ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee, which oversees trade issues. Trump announced that he would impose a 50 percent tariff in July, in response to what he felt was an unfair legal case against former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro — a Trump ally — over his role in attempting to overturn the results of the country’s 2022 election, as well as over a Brazil’s policies on digital content, which has ensnared U.S. social media companies. In his order imposing the tariffs, Trump declared a national emergency over “the scope and gravity of the recent policies, practices, and actions of the Government of Brazil constitute an unusual and extraordinary threat, which has its source in whole or substantial part outside the United States, to the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States.” That order has received pushback from some in Congress, including Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.), who argued that by allowing the president to declare an emergency over a country’s treatment of a political ally would open the door to broader use of national emergencies to govern. “Don’t lie and say there’s an energy emergency when there isn’t,” said Kaine, who sponsored the resolution. “Don’t lie and say Brazil’s prosecution of a president is an emergency when it’s not. Don’t use the lie to increase the price of coffee by 40 percent in a year. Don’t use the lie to punish a country with whom we have a trade surplus. Don’t lie and don’t hurt my citizens.”CORRECTION: This story has been corrected to reflect that House Republican leaders have blocked votes on Trump tariff resolutions until January.