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The Senate could take a test vote as early as tomorrow afternoon on a revamped Republican bill to end the government shutdown and fund parts of the government for the rest of the fiscal year.
We are still waiting on bill text on a measure that would fund the government through late January and provide money for the Agriculture Department (which funds SNAP), the Veterans Affairs Department and military construction projects and Congress through Sept. 30, 2026.
But things will begin moving once text is posted tonight or tomorrow morning.
This appears to be a pure spending bill with nothing separate for renewing Obamacare subsidies.
SENATE IN LIMBO AS THUNE EYES LONG HAUL UNTIL SHUTDOWN ENDS
The test vote needs 60 yeas. That entails Democratic buy-in. Fox is told to watch the following Democratic senators to see if they will vote to break a filibuster, although they might not be needed to vote for the final bill. Only a simple majority is needed there.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., speaks at a press conference with other members of Senate Republican leadership after a policy luncheon in Washington, D.C., Oct. 28, 2025 (Nathan Posner/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Fox is told this is the universe of potential senators who caucus with the Democrats to watch as possible yeas to break a filibuster:
Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin, D-Ill; and senators Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H.; Jack Reed, D-R.I.; Jon Ossoff, D-Ga.; John Fetterman, D-Pa.; Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev.; Maggie Hassan, D-N.H.; Gary Peters, D-Mich.; Angus King, I-Maine; and Patty Murray, D-Wash. Murray is the top Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee. Fox is told that Murray scored some significant language in the tenuous spending pact.
This is a fragile coalition and could fall apart.
But if the Senate breaks the filibuster, it is just a matter of time before the senators vote to reopen the government. In fact, it’s possible that the…
