Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., said he offered Democrats a chance to vote on extending Affordable Care Act subsidies if they would agree to end the government shutdown, which stretched into its 16th day.
Thune told MSNBC on Wednesday night he pledged to open a vote on extending the subsidies, which expire at the end of the year.
Congressional Democrats have insisted a subsidies extension must be part of the continuing resolution (CR) to keep the government funded through Nov. 21, but Republicans have countered that appropriations and policy should not be negotiated during a shutdown.
Senate Democrats on Thursday voted against a House-backed stopgap funding measure for the 10th time, ensuring the shutdown will enter its 17th day Friday.
"We can guarantee you get a vote by a date certain," Thune said. "At some point, Democrats have to take 'yes' for an answer."
Thune suggested he supported extending the subsidies if they "included reforms."
He was asked whether he was merely guaranteeing a negotiation over the expiring subsidies — which Democrats have said isn't enough to win their support for a stopgap bill. Thune replied there was "a path forward, I believe."
"Can I guarantee an outcome? No," he said. "I can't guarantee it's going to pass. I can guarantee you that there will be a process and you will get a vote."
In a push to get Democrats to the negotiating table, Thune said he is willing to "guarantee" them a separate vote on extending the subsidies "by a date certain" as long as they first vote to support the CR and end the shutdown.
Thune's comments echo previous statements expressing support for negotiating with Democrats about healthcare reforms after they agree to reopen the government. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., has made similar pledges in the lower chamber.
Democrats reportedly balked Thursday at Thune's offer, citing a lack of trust with Republicans, President Donald Trump's lack of buy-in, and an apparent lack of political will in the House.
"When the shutdown was just starting, we requested that," said Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H. "That's been almost three weeks ago, and they wouldn't do it ... And now he has moved but everybody else has moved, too."
Shaheen, one of the Democrat moderates working to negotiate a bipartisan path out of the shutdown, said the offer wouldn't move her.
"It's good progress, but it's not what we need to open things back up again," she said. "I trust no Republican's word as long as Donald Trump is saying he refuses to extend healthcare tax subsidies."
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., also dismissed Thune's proposal, saying Thune never extended it to him.
"We're not negotiating in public, plain and simple," Schumer told reporters Thursday. "And Leader Thune has not come to me with any proposal at this point."
Michael Katz ✉
Michael Katz is a Newsmax reporter with more than 30 years of experience reporting and editing on news, culture, and politics.
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