Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D. at the Capitol in Washington, on November 7, 2025, day 38 of the government shutdown. J. SCOTT APPLEWHITE / AP
As the Senate held a rare Sunday session on November 9, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, a Republican from South Dakota, said a potential deal was "coming together" on the government shutdown. But there was no guarantee it would end an impasse now stretching to 40 days. Moderate Democrats huddled over the weekend to find a compromise to reopen the government as the shutdown continued to disrupt flights nationwide, threaten food assistance for millions of Americans and leave federal workers without pay.
Top Republicans were working with those Democrats to finalize a legislative package that would reopen the government into January while also approving full-year funding for several parts of the government. The bill would also potentially reverse some recent mass layoffs of federal workers. But the full details were still unclear, and the necessary Democratic support was far from certain as it appeared unlikely the package would extend health care subsidies that expire at the end of the year.
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Trump administration seeks to turn government shutdown against Democrats
