Talks to end US shutdown look promising, Senate majority leader says

Reuters ^ | November 8, 20252:33 PM CST | Richard Cowan and Susan Heavey

[E. Pluribus Unum]

Summary

• Thune sees positive momentum in budget talks
• Trump suggests redirecting federal healthcare funds
• Healthcare subsidies are at the heart of shutdown dispute
• Government shutdown is well into its second month

WASHINGTON, Nov 8 (Reuters) - Bipartisan talks in the U.S. Senate to end the federal shutdown have taken a positive turn, Senate Majority Leader John Thune said on Saturday, with lawmakers working on deals to temporarily reopen the government and introduce three longer-term funding bills for some agencies.

Asked by reporters whether there have been bipartisan talks within the last 24 hours that have been positive in nature, Thune, a South Dakota Republican, responded, "Yeah. I'd say so."

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Saturday marked the 39th day of the federal shutdown, which has already sidelined many federal workers and affected food aid, air travel and national parks. After weeks of faltering talks, Republicans and Democrats in the U.S. Senate seemed to start negotiating in earnest late this week.

Lawmakers on Saturday hoped to unveil the full text of three fiscal 2026 full-year funding measures for agriculture, food and nutrition programs, along with money for military construction projects, veterans' programs and funding to operate Congress, according to Republican senators. The proposals would fund those operations through September 30, 2026.

Meanwhile, senators have been working on a stopgap measure that would buy them more time to reach a deal on the remaining nine "discretionary" spending bills for the rest of the federal government, such as agencies for homeland security, defense, housing and health.

North Dakota Republican Senator John Hoeven told reporters that the short-term funding, now set to expire on November 21, would be updated with new legislation to reopen the government and keep...

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[Secret Agent Man]

Yup

[ChuckHam]

Yep, Thune gonna pull a RINO move.

[ChuckHam]

Make the airlines fly VFR rules and flights will go on. They won’t be as fast or as many, but they will go on. Ground private planes until ATC is at full capacity. Air travel doesn’t have to stop; it simply has to limit capacity.

[oldplayer]

Uh, the commercial for profit airlines ARE private planes. They are just owned by huge corporations.

[FlyingEagle]

So it’s all about giving more money to the insurance industry.

Keep it shut down. Forget the insurance thiefs.

[ChuckHam]

You know what I mean. Ground the small aircraft to make way for the airlines to fly VFR. Anyway, it was just an idea that will never be implemented.