Senate leaves Washington as government shutdown nears 3rd week, military pay at risk

The Senate is set to leave town on Friday until early next week as neither side is ready to give in the ongoing government shutdown stalemate.

Lawmakers voted deep into the night on Thursday on the 2026 National Defense Authorization Act, which advanced on a largely bipartisan vote. But the $925 billion package, which authorizes funding for the Pentagon, was effectively the last hurrah for the week in the upper chamber.

While there was discussion of putting the House GOP’s continuing resolution (CR), along with congressional Democrats’ counter-proposal, on the floor for one last vote, the plan never came to fruition. Both would likely have failed for an eighth consecutive time.

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Senate Republicans and Democrats will instead return on Tuesday next week, after observing Columbus Day, to continue the ongoing back and forth on the GOP’s CR following a week of trying and failing to pass the bill and reopen the government.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., plans to continue bringing the Republicans’ bill to the floor in an effort to fragment Senate Democrats. So far, only three Democratic caucus members have consistently split from their largely unified party.

Talks have continued in the background behind closed-doors, but nothing has quite yet materialized into full-blown negotiations on expiring Obamacare, formally known as the Affordable Care Act (ACA), tax credits to find an off-ramp as the government shutdown barrels into a third week.

“The ACA issue is important to a lot of us, not just to Democrats,” Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, said. “The tax subsidies were enhanced during COVID. They do need to be reformed, but they do need to be extended as well.”

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Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., is one of a handful of Republicans consistently meeting with Democrats. He said he’s not meeting with lawmakers “so dug in that they can’t get off their position,” but still, no movement across the aisle has happened.

Mullin and other Republicans want to pass their short-term CR until Nov. 21, while Senate Democrats are adamant that, unless there is a deal on the ACA subsidies, they won’t provide GOP with the votes to reopen the government.

“Well, if it continues, the way it’s gone, the longer we go, the harder it is,” Mullin said. “It’s a big task. Anything to do with ACA or healthcare, you get a lot of moving parts. I think that gets very difficult the longer this thing [goes on]. You get into next week. I mean, we’ve got four and a half weeks left, right, and so that timeframe keeps getting shorter.”

Their return next week also all but guarantees that members of the military will not receive their paychecks on time, given that the date to have payroll locked in and processed falls on Monday.

“Certainly, if folks miss a paycheck, the intensity will go up,” Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.V., said.

The continued gridlock has most in the Senate GOP unwilling to consider turning to the “nuclear option,” a move they made last month when they unilaterally changed the Senate’s rules for confirmations on nominations to break through Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and his caucus’ blockade of President Donald Trump’s nominees, to change the filibuster.

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“There’s always a lot of swirl out there, as you know, from, you know, social media, etc., but no, we’re not having that conversation,” Thune said.

But not every Republican wants to ignore nuking the 60-vote filibuster as, day in and day out, the GOP’s plan to reopen the government falls five votes short.

Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, said that if the shutdown continues, it’s an option that should be considered.

“Look, 50%, 60% of Americans live paycheck to paycheck,” he said. “We’re going to trip that wire next week. Now if there’s another paycheck — that’s probably 80% of Americans that can’t go without two paychecks in a row. I think at that point we have to look at it and say ‘the Democrats are still doing political stunts.’”

Republicans also found a new point of attack against Democrats. Schumer told Punchbowl News in an interview that “Every day gets better for us,” in his assessment of Senate Democrats’ political momentum as the shutdown marches onward.

“Who is ‘us?’ Not better for the American people,” Senate Majority Whip John Barrasso, R-Wyo., said. “Who does he mean by ‘us?’ Not the military who is not getting paid. Not the Border Patrol who are not getting paid. Not the air traffic controllers who are not getting paid. Who is ‘us?’ He’s playing a game!”

But Senate Democrats are largely shrugging off the issue. Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, contended that it was Republicans’ latest attempt to “change the topic from 114% increase in premiums,” a point Democrats have argued could happen if the Obamacare tax credits aren’t extended.

“They’re a little desperate to change the news cycle, and this is their latest attempt,” Schatz said.