He encouraged members of the minority to support the continuing resolution without the health subsidy extension.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune said that the minority party can avoid a shutdown by simply passing House-approved funding for 2026.
“I’m a big believer that there’s always a way out,” Senator Thune said in an interview. “And I think there are off-ramps here, but I don’t think that the negotiating position, at least at the moment, that the Democrats are trying to exert here is going to get you there.”
The Big Beautiful Bill Act, passed in July, enacted $1 trillion in cuts to federal funding. Members of the minority have demanded that healthcare subsidies, set to expire at the end of this year, be extended. Senator Thune urged eight of his opposing colleagues to cast bipartisan votes in favor of the funding before October 1 to avert a government shutdown.
“It’s all avoidable,” the majority leader said. “And if they don’t want to go down that path, there’s a way to avoid going down that path.”
As the Lord Leads, Pray with Us…
- For Majority Leader Thune to be led by the Lord as he oversees the upper chamber’s business.
- For Minority Leader Schumer to be prudent as he promotes his party’s priorities.
Sources: The Hill, AP News
