Senate Republicans plot longer-term funding bill as government shutdown continues
Government closure has pushed into record-breaking territory as original timeline shrinks
By Alex Miller , Elizabeth Elkind Fox News
Published November 3, 2025 4:43pm EST
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., and Senate Republicans are considering pushing back the House-passed government funding extension in a bid to give lawmakers more time to pass spending bills.
The House’s continuing resolution (CR) would reopen the government until Nov. 21. That bill has been blocked by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Senate Democrats 13 times so far and has pushed the shutdown into record-breaking territory.
Given that the original seven-week plan has now shrunk to just three weeks as the shutdown drags on, Thune and the Senate GOP realize that more time will be needed to pass appropriations bills.
"The House-passed CR is, you know, the idea that we could get any appropriations bills done, you know, by November the 21st now, that date's lost," Thune said.
The objective now is to produce a CR that extends the funding deadline, possibly into January. Thune said that he was "certainly open" to extending the deadline into next year. Senate Republicans tried to get a package of three bills on the floor, along with possibly more, late last month. But that move was blocked by Senate Democrats.
"As you look at the calendar, if you want to do normal appropriations work, you look at how long it takes to get bills across the floor in the Senate and through the House," he said. "It's, you know, the longer sort of runway there is better."
To do so would either require a fresh CR, or the House-passed bill could be amended. Still, anything that Republicans hash out will need to break through the 60-vote threshold in the Senate and require support from Democrats.
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https://www.foxnews.com/politics/senate-republicans-plot-longer-term-funding-bill-government-shutdown-continues
