Senate frustrations rise as shutdown starts feeling like 'Groundhog Day'

The government shutdown is turning into “Groundhog Day” for senators as they grow increasingly frustrated with the lack of movement toward a deal and repeated failed votes.

The Senate on Monday voted on the GOP’s “clean” stopgap funding bill and on a Democratic alternative, with both again failing to advance. Absent a substantial change in posture on either side, the upper chamber is expected to vote on the same continuing resolutions (CR) on Tuesday and Thursday.

Adding to the monotony and deepening the stalemate, the repeated votes are taking place even as no high-level negotiations are taking place and talks among rank-and-file lawmakers appear to have petered out.

“It’s unfortunate. I wish we were making more progress,” said Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), who was part of informal talks with Democrats in recent days that have made little headway. “It takes our Democrat colleagues to actually want to get in the middle of it too.” 

The upper chamber returned for the vote on Monday after taking the weekend off, but little changed in the interim. No other members of the Democratic caucus joined Sens. Catherine Cortez (D-Nev.), Angus King (I-Maine) and John Fetterman (D-Pa.) — who have supported the measure on each vote since the shutdown started — in voting to advance the GOP’s House-passed funding bill. Instead, both sides remained hunkered down and neither indicated a willingness to budge.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) has been adamant that he has little reason to meet with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), insisting he has nothing to negotiate in a “clean” bill and repeatedly noting that Democrats have voted for such CRs more than a dozen times in recent years.

He told reporters that he will only meet with Schumer “if it’s useful.”

The GOP leader also said that he plans to continue holding votes on the same bills — the “clean” bill and the Democratic blueprint — in the coming days, a sign the party is not backing away from its strategy. 

“We’re still where we are,” Thune said, adding that he did not talk to the New York Democrat over the weekend. “I’m not sure what it is at this point they want to negotiate.”

“I think we’ve made it very clear that we want an appropriations process, we want to get this thing moving again. And hopefully at some point that becomes enough of a priority for some of his members that they’ll find a way to get to ‘yes,’” he continued. “But it sounds like they’re still stuck at the moment.”

Schumer, meanwhile, has worked throughout the shutdown to keep the remaining Democrats united and insisted that his side’s fight on behalf of the expiring enhanced healthcare credits under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is the winning message as the shutdown drags on. 

“After five failed votes, it should be clear to Republicans that we cannot go forward unless they sit down and seriously negotiate with Democrats to address the health care crisis. It's that simple,” Schumer told reporters after the vote. 

Adding another layer to the fight are emerging polls. A CBS News poll unveiled on Sunday showed that 39 percent of Americans blamed President Trump and Republicans for the shutdown while 30 percent blame Democrats. That followed a Washington Post poll released last week that found 47 percent of Americans blamed Trump and Republicans while 30 percent blamed Democrats. Both polls, however, showed sizable numbers of people who either blamed both parties for the impasse or said they weren’t sure.

Put simply, neither side has a commanding advantage in the blame game, leaving them little reason to give in at this point. 

“I don’t think anybody’s winning,” Sen. Shelly Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) said, pointing to recent surveys indicating “equal blame.” 

“It just leads to more corrosion of trust —- that’s what I’m worried about,” Capito said. “We can’t function, and that’s difficult for everyday Americans when they’re trying to live their lives.”

Democrats are hoping to flip the script, though, and they are hoping to get a boost from Trump to shake up the state of play. 

Thune and Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) have largely controlled the narrative, serving as a brick wall to Democrats who have been itching for Trump to come to the table. 

“He’s the decider in the Republican Party right now,” Sen. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) said. “It’s important he be engaged. … We also know at the end of the day, they’ll do what President Trump tells them to do.” 

Trump on Monday indicated to reporters that he was willing to make a deal with Democrats on the expiring ACA credits, which have been at the heart of the minority party’s argument. 

“We have a negotiation going on right now with the Democrats that could lead to very good things. And I’m talking about good things with regard to health care,” Trump said in the Oval Office.

Democratic congressional leaders immediately retorted that such talks are not happening at the moment, though they would welcome them. 

“Trump’s claim isn’t true — but if he’s finally ready to work with Democrats, we’ll be at the table,” Schumer said. “If President Trump and Republicans are finally ready to sit down and get something done on healthcare for American families, Democrats will be there — ready to make it happen.”

A few hours later, Trump himself seemed to walk back his comments, writing on Truth Social that he is "happy to work with the Democrats on their Failed Healthcare Policies, or anything else, but first they must allow our Government to re-open. In fact, they should open our Government tonight!"

Creating another headache in the fight is that the ballgame is almost entirely in the Senate’s hands as the House remains out of town this week.

Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) canceled votes this week and indicated on Monday that House members will remain in their district until senators strike a deal.

"I'm anxious to get my folks back,” Johnson told reporters on Monday. “I want to bring the House back into session and get back to work, but we can't do it until they turn the lights back on. We need Chuck Schumer to reopen the government, and as soon as he does that, we'll bring everybody back.”

The inability to end the shutdown may also result in a change in schedule for senators, who are slated to be on recess next week. Thune indicated that he has not yet decided whether to cancel it.