Senators struggle to find a way forward as government shutdown enters
ninth day
[October 10, 2025]
By STEPHEN GROVES, MARY CLARE JALONICK and MATT BROWN
WASHINGTON (AP) — The consequences of a government shutdown setting in,
senators labored Thursday to find a way forward but found themselves
struggling to overcome a fundamental lack of trust between the two
parties.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune on Thursday afternoon floated an “off
ramp” to the government funding impasse, suggesting that he could hold a
later vote on expiring health care subsidies if Democrats would first
support a stopgap spending bill to reopen the government.
Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer quickly dismissed the idea. “It’s
nothing new, they say it all the time. It doesn’t do anything to make
sure we get health care.”
The exchange showed how congressional leaders remain trapped in a
stalemate on the ninth day of the government shutdown despite the
growing toll of federal closures. Government offices nationwide have
shuttered, hundreds of thousands of federal employees have been
furloughed and U.S. military troops and other government employees are
on track to miss a scheduled payday.
Thune's overture suggested one possible path forward, but it was unclear
how serious the offer was or whether it would lead to any real
negotiations with Democrats. Still, pressure is growing on congressional
leaders to reach a deal as rank-and-file lawmakers grew anxious about
the lack of progress on ending the shutdown.
One Democratic senator who has pressed for a compromise, Sen. Jeanne
Shaheen of New Hampshire, argued that the offer from Thune showed there
is a growing desire among Republicans to reach a deal on Democrats'
demand to extend subsidies for health plans offered under the Affordable
Care Act.
“There needs to be official negotiation and until that happens, it’s
unlikely that things will get done,” she said.
Still, President Donald Trump and Republicans have so far held to the
stance that they will only negotiate on Democratic demands around health
care benefits after they vote to reopen the government. They also say
Schumer is beholden to the left wing of his party and only staging the
shutdown fight to stave off a primary challenge.
Republicans jump on Schumer's comments
Schumer, a New York Democrat, told Punchbowl News in an interview that
Democrats were winning the shutdown fight, saying, “Every day gets
better for us.”
Republicans quickly seized on those comments, arguing it showed that the
New York senator is approaching the shutdown with purely political
motives.
Thune stood on the Senate floor flanked by a poster printed with
Schumer's words.
“This isn't a political game. Democrats might feel that way, but I don't
know anybody else that does,” said Thune, a South Dakota Republican.
“The longer this goes on, the more the American people realize that
Democrats own this shutdown.”
Schumer, in his own floor speech, responded that it was Trump and
Republicans who are “playing with people's lives.”
“Every day that Republicans refuse to negotiate to end this shutdown,
the worse it gets for Americans and the clearer it becomes who is
fighting for them," said Schumer.
When a handshake deal is not enough
Democrats have insisted they can't take Trump or House Speaker Mike
Johnson at their word and therefore need more than a verbal commitment
for any deal.
“We’re in an environment where we need more than a handshake,” said Sen.
Chris Coons, a Delaware Democrat who has engaged in talks with
Republicans.
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Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., speaks to member of the
media before voting at the Capitol on the ninth day of the
government shutdown in Washington, Thursday, Oct. 9, 2025. (AP
Photo/Allison Robbert)
Conflicts over spending power had already been raging before the
shutdown as the White House pushed to assert maximum power over
congressionally approved budgets. The White House budget office had
canceled scores of government contracts, including cutting out the
legislative branch entirely with a $4.9 billion cut to foreign aid
in August through a legally dubious process known as a “pocket
rescission.”
That enraged Democrats — and disturbed some Republicans who
criticized it as executive overreach.
“I hate rescissions, to be honest with you, unless they’re
congressionally approved,” said Sen. Thom Tillis, a North Carolina
Republican.
Then, as the government entered a shutdown, Trump's budget director
Russ Vought laid out arguments that the president would have even
more power to lay off workers and even cancel pay due to furloughed
federal workers once the funding lapse is solved. Vought has also
announced that the administration was withholding billions of
dollars for infrastructure projects in states with Democratic
senators who have voted for the shutdown.
“We’re only going to cut Democrat programs,” Trump said in a Cabinet
meeting Thursday. He added: “We’re going to give them a little taste
of their own medicine.”
Yet on Capitol Hill, there has been an acknowledgment that the
hardball tactics are making it harder to negotiate.
“I think with senators, carrots work better than sticks,” said Sen.
Kevin Cramer, a North Dakota Republican.
Failed votes and the consequences of an extended shutdown
The Senate failed, in a 54-45 vote, to advance a stopgap funding
bill for the seventh time Thursday, and there has been no sign of
significant progress to ending the impasse.
Lawmakers are now looking ahead to the dates when federal employees
will miss a payday, nervous about both the financial implications
for federal employees and military members and the political
blowback. Several House Republicans representing districts with
military installations are calling on the speaker to hold a vote on
legislation to ensure troops are paid.
Active-duty military troops would miss a paycheck on Oct. 15. As
Johnson, a Louisiana Republican, fielded questions on C-SPAN
Thursday morning, one caller pleaded with him to pass legislation
that would allow the military to get paid during the government
shutdown.
The woman, identified as Samantha, said her husband serves in the
military and that they "live paycheck to paycheck.”
She pleaded with Johnson to call the House back to Washington,
saying, “You could stop this.”
Johnson said he was sorry to hear about her situation, blamed
Democrats for refusing to pass the stop-gap spending bill and added,
“I am angry because of situations just like yours.”
___
Associated Press writers Lisa Mascaro, Kevin Freking, Joey
Cappelletti and Seung Min Kim contributed to this report.
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