WASHINGTON — As the 35-day government shutdown ties for the longest in American history on Tuesday, senators predicted that the impasse could end this week.
“I’m pretty confident,” said Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla.
After weeks without any movement, bipartisan talks among rank-and-file members have been picking up, leading to the first public signs of optimism that the shutdown could soon end.
Mullin said that some Democrats had privately indicated last week that they were willing to vote for the short-term Republican spending bill that would reopen the government through Nov. 21. But, Mullin said, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., had instructed them to wait until after Tuesday’s elections so they wouldn’t depress turnout from the liberal base that has been urging the party to hold the line. Schumer’s office had no immediate comment.
Centrist Republican Sen. Mike Rounds of South Dakota, who has taken part in some of the bipartisan talks on how to get the government reopened, agreed, repeatedly saying he’s “optimistic” the shutdown could end this week.
And Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., also pointed to Tuesday’s elections in Virginia, New Jersey, New York and California as a key factor that could shake loose a solution to the impasse.
Democrats, however, have dismissed the GOP argument that reopening the government will all hinge on the election, with Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut mocking it as “cynical galaxy brain thinking.”
Republicans need just five more Democrats in the Senate to break with their leadership and vote for a continuing resolution or CR to reopen the government. Tuesday marked the 14th time that Democrats voted to block the House bill in the Senate.
But with Nov. 21 and the Thanksgiving holiday fast approaching, there is now a need for Congress to pass a longer CR — possibly into the new year — to give bipartisan negotiators a longer runway to craft spending bills for the fiscal year that began on Oct. 1.
Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Susan Collins, whose panel is responsible for writing spending bills, said Monday night s he is “very cautiously hopeful that it will be resolved by the end of this week.”
