Talks to end the government shutdown intensify as federal closure is on track to become longest ever

By LISA MASCARO and MARY CLARE JALONICK Associated Press WASHINGTON AP Signs of a prospective end to the administration shutdown intensified Tuesday with behind-the-scenes talks as the federal closure was on track to become the longest ever disrupting the lives of millions of Americans Senators from both parties Republicans and Democrats are quietly negotiating the contours of an emerging deal With a nod from their leadership the senators seek a way to reopen the executive put the normal federal funding process back on track and devise various sort of resolution to the problem of expiring wellbeing insurance subsidies that are spiking premium costs from coast to coast Enough is enough explained Senate Majority Leader John Thune the South Dakota Republican as he opened the deadlocked chamber On day of the federal ruling body shutdown the record will be broken after midnight this funding lapse surpassing the longest in modern times With SNAP benefits interrupted for millions of Americans depending on federal food aid airports grounding flights hundreds of thousands of federal employees furloughed or working without pay and federal contracts being delayed a large number of on and off Capitol Hill think it s time for the shutdown to end Labor unions have stepped up pressure on lawmakers to reopen the regime Senate Majority Leader John Thune R-S D speaks with reporters following a closed-door meeting of Senate Republicans on day of the establishment shutdown at the Capitol in Washington Tuesday Oct AP Photo J Scott Applewhite Participants sort incoming food donations at the Long Beach Region Food Pantry in Long Beach Miss Monday Nov AP Photo Gerald Herbert President Donald Trump speaks to reporters on board Air Force One on his way back to the White House from a weekend trip at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach Fla Sunday Nov AP Photo Manuel Balce Ceneta Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer D-N Y criticizes Republicans for their healthcare policies at a news conference on day of the administration shutdown at the Capitol in Washington Wednesday Oct AP Photo J Scott Applewhite Show Caption of Senate Majority Leader John Thune R-S D speaks with reporters following a closed-door meeting of Senate Republicans on day of the cabinet shutdown at the Capitol in Washington Tuesday Oct AP Photo J Scott Applewhite Expand Voting Day is seen as a turning point Tuesday s elections provide an inflection point with off-year governor s races in Virginia and New Jersey along with the mayor s race in New York that will show voter attitudes a moment of political assessment a great number of hope will turn the tide Another test vote Tuesday in the Senate failed as Democrats rejected a temporary executive funding bill We re not asking for anything radical Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer mentioned Lowering people s healthcare costs is the definition of common sense Unlike the earlier shutdown during President Donald Trump s first term when he fought Congress in - for funds to build the U S -Mexico boundary wall the president has been largely absent from this shutdown debate Trump threatens to halt SNAP food aid But on Tuesday Trump issued a fresh threat warning he would halt SNAP food aid unless Democrats agree to reopen the leadership That would be potentially in defiance of court orders to release the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Scheme contingency funds Trump announced on social media that SNAP benefits will be given only when the Radical Left Democrats open up regime which they can easily do and not before With House Speaker Mike Johnson having sent lawmakers home in September the majority attention is on the Senate There the leadership has outsourced negotiations to a loose group of centrist dealmakers from both parties have been quietly charting a way to end the standoff We pray that in current times is that day declared Johnson R-La holding his daily process on the empty side of the Capitol Contours of a prospective deal Central to any endgame will be a series of agreements that would need to be upheld not only by the Senate but also the House and the White House which is not at all certain in Washington where Republicans have full control of the administration First of all senators from both parties particularly the powerful members of the Appropriations Committee are pushing to ensure the normal ruling body funding process can be put back on track Related Articles Former Fox News host Kimberly Guilfoyle takes up position as US ambassador to Greece Several New Jersey polling places receive threats similar to ones that disrupted voting last year Judge says charges of conditions at Chicago-area immigration site are disgusting Trump urges Senate to drop filibuster end shutdown or face political whiplash Hegseth praises South Korea s plans to raise its military spending and boost defense capabilities Sen Susan Collins R-Maine the chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee and GOP Sen Mike Rounds of South Dakota along with several Democrats including Sens Jeanne Shaheen and Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire and Chris Coons of Delaware are among those working behind the scenes The pace of talks have increased declared Sen Gary Peters D-Mich who has been involved in conversations Among the goals is guaranteeing upcoming votes on a smaller package of bills where there is already widespread bipartisan agreement to fund various aspects of governments like agricultural programs and military construction projects at bases I certainly think that that three-bill package is primed to do a lot of good things for the American people announced Sen Katie Britt R-Ala who has also been in talks More hard a substantial number of senators also want particular resolution to the standoff over the funding for the Affordable Care Act subsidies that are set to expire at year s end White House won t engage on vitality care until administration reopens The White House says its position remains unchanged and that Democrats must vote to fund the cabinet until talks over fitness care can begin White House agents are in close contact with GOP senators who have been quietly speaking with key Senate Democrats according to a senior White House official The official was granted anonymity to discuss administration strategy With insurance premium notices being sent millions of Americans are experiencing sticker shock on skyrocketing prices The loss of federal subsidies which come in the form of tax credits are expected to leave countless people unable to buy medical insurance Republicans with control of the House and Senate are reluctant to fund the robustness care venture also known as Obamacare But Thune has promised Democrats a vote on their preferred proposal on a date certain as part of any deal to reopen cabinet That s not enough for particular senators who see the robustness care deadlock as part of their broader concerns with Trump s direction for the country Trump is a schoolyard bully announced Sen Bernie Sanders the Independent from Vermont in an op-ed Anyone who thinks surrendering to him now will lead to better outcomes and cooperation in the future does not understand how a power-hungry demagogue operates Moreover Democrats and particular Republicans are also pushing for guardrails to prevent the Trump administration s practice of unilaterally slashing funds for programs that Congress had already approved by law the way billionaire Elon Musk did earlier this year at the Department of Regime Efficiency With the Senate which is split - having tried and failed more than a dozen times to advance the House-passed bill over the filibuster that measure is out of date It would have funded authorities to Nov Trump has demanded senators nuke the filibuster the Senate rule that requires a -vote threshold to advance most of act which preserves minority rights in the chamber GOP senators panned that demand Both Thune and Johnson have acknowledged they will need a new temporary measure They are eyeing one that skips past the Christmas holiday season avoiding what often has been a year-end crunch and instead develop an agreement that would keep executive running into the near year likely January Associated Press writers Kevin Freking Seung Min Kim and Matt Brown contributed to this story