not punishing members of Congress.
Hahahaha. Rand lala land.
This little sh*t has really showed his colors. He is a traitor.
They let the libertarian object to keep the GOP and dimo rats out of it.
I have had it with this guy. It’s one thing to object to continuing obscene government spending, but this is just o he ting for the sake of it.
I’m relevant!!! Look at me, look at me!!!!
His local groupie is strangely silent on this issue.
Democrats try a new shutdown strategy: Unity
Different Democrats have had all sorts of different strategies throughout the shutdown.
But Democrats now want to try to speak with one voice.
msnbc.com. Nov. 6, 2025, 8:56 PM EST
By Kevin Frey, Mychael Schnell, Ali Vitali, Syedah Asghar and Peggy Helman
After weeks of different Democrats taking different shutdown approaches — some voting with Republicans, some talking with GOP lawmakers about a bipartisan deal and some holding out completely — Democrats emerged from an hourslong closed-door meeting on Thursday advocating a new strategy: unity. What that unity means, in practice, is unclear. And whether that unity can be maintained — and for how long — remains to be seen. But the answers to those questions could decide how and when the shutdown ends.
“Our goal is to try to all stay together as much as we can,” Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., said as Democrats met. Asked what the next steps are, however, Murphy reported that he didn’t have “much more to say.” ‘The American people are hurting’: Senate Dem calls for end to government shutdown Across the ideological spectrum, Democrats struck the same tone over and over again: unified in message, vague on mechanics. “We’re unified on how we’re moving forward,” Sen. Tammy Duckworth, D-Ill., told reporters.
“It was an encouraging caucus, because there’s a great deal of unity,” Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., said. “I feel like we’re very unified,” Sen. Andy Kim, D-N.J., told reporters. “I’m excited to see what we can put together here.” Behind closed doors, Democrats have been discussing making their own “unified” offer on the shutdown, sources told MSNBC, though they seem to be holding out at the moment to see if Republicans will make a better offer first. Among the ideas Democrats are discussing is a clean continuing resolution in exchange for a guaranteed vote on scaled-down Obamacare subsidies — by a date certain and in the House and Senate — though sources cautioned that nothing is set in stone.
At the moment, Republicans are intent on offering just a slight variation on what they’ve offered Democrats more than a dozen times before. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., plans to hold another vote on government funding on Friday — only this time, it won’t be the same bill that Democrats have already rejected 14 times.
Instead, Thune will offer to amend the bill, attaching a package of three appropriation bills and changing the end date for the stopgap spending measure, three sources told MSNBC. The new funding bill will likely be adjusted from Nov. 21 to some date in January, the sources said, though that detail remains undecided. The offer resembles a deal that a bipartisan group of members had been working toward for weeks as a possible offramp to the record-breaking shutdown. But as of Thursday evening, several Senate Democrats told MSNBC that Thune’s latest proposal would not sway them, with many pointing to the lack of action on extending Obamacare subsidies as their reason for their opposition.
Is Trump entering panic mode on the economy & the shutdown?
Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., said that if the proposal doesn’t address expiring subsidies — and all indications are that it won’t — it’s “a nonstarter for me.” I’ve seen firsthand what’s been happening across the South. Republicans saw it Tuesday. Megyn Kelly doesn’t think Muslims should hold office in America. There’s a word for that “I’m not here for show votes,” Sen. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., said. “Show votes is not gonna make things an easier situation for a family that has to figure out: I’m gonna pay utility bills, or I’m gonna pay my premiums.”
For all the talk of unity, whether all Democrats will stand in opposition to the bill — considering the growing pain of the shutdown and the fact that many of them were working toward a deal like this for weeks — is unclear. Several Democrats were noncommittal when asked by reporters Thursday night. “The views of the caucus as a whole are still in flux,” Blumenthal said of the overall dynamics. I’m totally disgusted with everybody in the Senate right now. I wouldn’t let us manage a ham sandwich, OK? This is embarrassing.”
One Senate Democrat, who requested anonymity to discuss the sensitive deliberations, said “a nucleus” of the caucus is in agreement that “there has to be a health care guarantee” tied to a funding bill. “It can’t be a separate vote,” this Democrat said. “It has to be combined.” That position continues to be a nonstarter for Republicans. Thune and Republicans refuse to negotiate over the Obamacare subsidies while the government is shut down, insisting that Democrats first turn the lights back on before engaging in such deliberations. At most, Thune has offered to commit to a separate, standalone vote on the Affordable Care Act subsidies — with no guarantee it will pass.
Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., threw an additional wrench into that approach on Thursday, when, in response to a question from MSNBC, he refused to commit to holding a vote on the Obamacare tax credits, calling into question whether the subsidies will ever be extended. “The House did its job on Sept. 19. I’m not promising anybody anything,” Johnson said. “I’m gonna let this process play out.” em Rep. warns shutdown ‘might never end’ if Trump, GOP keep same negotiating tactics
07:5 In the Democratic Caucus, some senators privately worry that more moderate members of their group may become antsy and support the GOP offer.
“Everybody wants to do it,” the Senate Democrat said of extending the Obamacare subsidies. “The question is how long another group might be willing or unwilling to hold out.” This lawmaker added that the Democrats most uncomfortable with the shutdown think that Congress needs to resolve the standoff “in the next couple of weeks” — “before Thanksgiving and better sooner than later.” But Democrats who are hoping for a better deal are encouraged by some cracks on the GOP side. For one, on Thursday, Republicans began adding sweeteners to their funding offers — like reinstating government workers who have recently been laid off.
For another, there are some Republicans who seem to want to discuss the Obamacare subsidies. Democratic Sens. Kim and Lisa Blunt Rochester of Delaware are scheduled to meet with Republican Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania and Jeff Van Drew of New Jersey on Friday to discuss a bipartisan extension of the Obamacare subsidies, two sources confirmed to MSNBC, a cross-party conversation that could bear some fruit. Still, even if lawmakers started moving on a resolution, it would take a good deal of time to work through the legislative process. Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., predicted that Congress is “at least seven days, and more likely 10, and very possibly two weeks away from opening up — at the best.”
“I’m totally disgusted with everybody in the Senate right now,” Kennedy said. “I wouldn’t let us manage a ham sandwich, OK? This is embarrassing.”
Kevin Frey
Kevin Frey is a congressional reporter for MSNBC. He previously served as Washington correspondent for Spectrum News NY1. A graduate of George Washington University, he grew up in Pennsylvania.
Mychael Schnell
She covers Capitol Hill involving both Democrats and Republicans. She previously covered Congress at The Hill. She graduated from George Washington University’s School of Media and Public Affairs with a bachelor’s degree in journalism and mass communication and political science.
Ali Vitali
Ali Vitali is MSNBC’s senior congressional correspondent and the host of “Way Too Early.” She is the author of “Electable: Why America Hasn’t Put a Woman in the White House ... Yet.
Syedah Asghar covers Congress for MSNBC.
“Paul argued that withholding pay from lawmakers distracts from the larger problem of bureaucratic dysfunction and the unfair treatment of federal workers who are continuing their duties during the shutdown.”
How? This is complete BS.
Rand always claims to be champion of lowering government spending and lowering wasteful spending. What is more wasteful than paying Congress when Congress is not doing it’s job???
Well, he just lost any credibility he may have had with this 💩
Randi-poo has exceeded his/her/they shelf life.
<< Paul, reserving the right to object, said the focus should be on re-opening government >>
That’s rich coming from the only GOP senator to vote against ….re-opening the government.
Congress should be the first to have their pay stopped , sitting around doing nothing
Have their federal jet perks been grounded?
Rand has always been a fraud.
Bland Appalled is a turd.
I want them to audit Congresspeeps personal finances.
Paul is finally outing himself as the dumbass open border losertarian all morons of his ilk ultimately are and as a Kentucky voter I can hardly wait to drop kick his ass into the dumpster fire of political history in the next round of primaries.
Congress should NOT be getting paid right now as long as any worker is not getting paid. Many are working without pay
This is so outrageous
The question is: To suspend Congressional pay, wouldn’t Mike Johnson have to call the House back into session?