The U.S. government shutdown shows no sign of ending, as Senate Republicans on Friday rejected a new proposal from Majority Leader Chuck Schumer aimed at reopening federal agencies. The shutdown, which began on October 1, has now stretched to 38 days, making it the longest in US history. Schumer’s proposal sought to preserve enhanced Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies for one year in exchange for Democrats agreeing to drop their push for a longer multi-year extension of the same tax credits. In return, Democrats would pass the Republicans’ short-term “clean” funding resolution to temporarily restore government operations, NPR reported. Republicans swiftly dismissed the offer, signaling that the two parties remain deeply divided over healthcare funding and the scope of government spending. GOP lawmakers argued that Democrats were attempting to lock in policy reforms through a stopgap bill, while Democrats accused Republicans of refusing to negotiate in good faith. With no compromise in sight, hundreds of thousands of federal workers remain furloughed or working without pay, and government programs across multiple sectors continue to feel the strain. The standoff has heightened political tensions in Washington, with both sides facing increasing pressure from their constituencies to find a resolution.“I find Senator Schumer’s demands ridiculous and equivalent to political hostage taking to continue bad policy,” Sen. Lindsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican, said in a post on X. “We should not be made to continue flooding health insurance companies with taxpayer dollars under Obamacare as the price to open up the government,” Graham said. “My no vote will be an unequivocal rejection of Senator Schumer’s very bad idea.”Schumer’s plan calls for Republicans to agree to a separate one-year extension of ACA credits and to create a bipartisan committee to continue negotiations on health-care affordability. Insurers would update their rates once Congress passed the simple extension of the tax credits.Millions of Americans who buy Obamacare health insurance plans are facing much higher premiums for 2026 coverage because those plans do not include the discount provided by enhanced ACA tax credits. More than 20 million Americans use the boosted subsidies, which are due to expire at the end of December if Congress does not extend them.Since before the shutdown began, Senate Democrats had insisted that any funding resolution extend the ACA subsidies, a stance that prevented a Republican-backed House funding bill without the credits from securing the 60 votes needed to pass the Senate. Republicans say the question of retaining the credits must be settled only after a clean funding bill is passed.The GOP holds 53 seats in the Senate. There are 45 Democratic senators and two independents who caucus with them.“Democrats have said we must address the health care crisis, but Republicans have repeatedly said they won’t negotiate to lower the health care costs until the government reopens,” Schumer said on the Senate floor on Friday afternoon. “So let’s find a path to honour both positions. Therefore, we’d like to offer a simple proposal that would reopen the government and extend the ACA premium tax credits simultaneously ... and then have the opportunity to start negotiating longer-term solutions to health care costs. This proposal reopens the government and ensures working families who are shopping right now for their health care get certainty and financial relief while open enrolment has begun.”Sen. John Thune, a South Dakota Republican, told reporters, “They know that their last proposal was unserious and unrealistic … so I guess you could characterise that as progress. But I just don’t think that it gets anywhere close to what we need to do here.”A person familiar with the Republican position told CNBC, “Democrats offered this privately weeks ago and [were] rejected. Today’s stunt is an admission by Democrats that it’s time to end the shutdown they started.”A White House official told CNBC, “Democrats are making clear they’re holding the American people hostage for other spending. This is a huge climbdown from their initial position and shows they’re under massive internal pressure.” The official said that House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., “indicated that he would never accept something like this, so it’s a sharp break from House Democrats. Ultimately, Democrats should reopen the government today, and the administration will meet with them on the tax credit and work with them on it.”Jeffries, in a statement, said, “The initiative put forth by Leader Schumer is a very reasonable, good faith proposal that reopens the government and addresses an important part of the Republican healthcare crisis. House Democrats will convene as a Caucus shortly, where we will have an opportunity to further discuss how to end the Republican shutdown. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and House Republicans need to get back to work and return from their outrageous six-week long taxpayer-funded vacation. Enough.”Numerous polls have shown that more Americans blame Donald Trump and Republicans than Democrats for the shutdown. Three days before Schumer made his new proposal, Democratic candidates swept key election races in New York City, New Jersey, and Virginia. President Donald Trump admitted on Wednesday that the electoral drubbing was bad for Republicans. Trump said that the shutdown was seen as “a big factor, negative for the Republicans.”
