Chicago – October 14, 2025
The Senate is set to return on Tuesday to again vote on whether to reopen the government, but like many times before, the plan is expected to fail again as a deal remains elusive.
Lawmakers in the upper chamber are expected to vote for an eighth time on the House GOP’s continuing resolution (CR), as the government shutdown inches closer to its third week. But after a long weekend away from Washington, D.C., it’s unlikely either party has shifted from their positions.
Senate Republicans want to pass the House’s “clean” short-term funding extension, which would reopen the government until Nov. 21. Included are millions in spending for lawmaker security and a budget fix for D.C.’s local government.
But Senate Democrats, led by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., remain adamant that they will not provide Republicans and Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., the needed votes to reopen the government unless there is a firm deal to extend expiring Obamacare subsidies.
Both sides are talking, breaking up into small groups that are focused on some of the Democrats’ demands, like extending the subsidies or putting guardrails on future rescissions and impoundments of federal funding.
Still, no concrete negotiations or an off-ramp out of the shutdown have materialized.
