Senate Republican Leader John Thune said a deal was “closer” as he planned a test vote Sunday on a narrow spending package that would end the 40-day government shutdown.
However, there was no guarantee that the impasse, now stretching to 40 days, would end.
“We’ll see where the votes are,” Thune said, adding, “These things can drag on forever if you let them.”
He told reporters earlier that the chamber plans to vote Sunday on the House-passed funding measure, which is part of a plan to reopen the government, along with passing several year-round funding measures.
Here’s what we know so far:
1. Senate Democrats are scheduled to gather for a committee meeting Sunday at 5 p.m., two sources familiar with the matter told CBS News.
That comes as Thune said he plans to vote Sunday to advance a continuing resolution passed by the House, with plans to amend the measure to include a package of year-round appropriations bills as part of a deal to reopen the government.
A procedural vote would require the support of a number of Democrats. The measure failed to reach the 60-vote threshold 14 times.
2. As Senate Democrats huddled ahead of a possible vote to end the shutdown, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said Sunday night that House Democrats will not support legislation that does not extend the Affordable Care Act tax credits that have been at the heart of the shutdown fight.
3. According to CBS News, senators released the third and final bill as part of a package of year-round funding bills that would fund the legislative branch.
Earlier in the day, appropriators released bills to fund military construction and the Department of Veterans Affairs, along with the FDA and the Department of Agriculture.
The package of bills, known as the “minibus,” is part of the GOP’s plan to end the shutdown.
4. What happens if the vote succeeds? Even if Sunday’s vote succeeds, it doesn’t necessarily mean the shutdown will end quickly, Bloomberg reported Sunday.
It said House Democrats would have to get on board with the plan, and their support was not assured. Meanwhile, the Associated Press reported that the needed Democratic support was not yet certain because the package appeared unlikely to extend health care subsidies that expire at the end of the year.
Many Democrats in both chambers continue to demand a one-year extension of Obamacare subsidies for low-income Americans in exchange for agreeing to reopen the government.
