(Zero Hedge)—With the government shutdown firmly in its fourth week and SNAP beneficiaries threatening cannibalism (see below), Senate Republicans and Democrats are working behind the scenes on a proposal to reopen the government next week – with centrist Democrats arguing behind the scenes that their party has successfully highlighted soaring healthcare costs.
Democrats say the higher costs are now set in stone due to Republicans’ refusal to negotiate a deal to extend Biden-era subsidies that are set to expire – in yet another example of anything that’s supposed to be ‘temporary’ becoming a new goalpost (*cough gerrymandering cough*).
“My assessment is that we’ve won anything that we can possibly win and the costs of continuing the shutdown are going to be felt by people who are going to food banks and federal employees,” one Democratic senator told The Hill, who argued that any political benefit to extending the shutdown is about to be outweighed by the chaos that’s about to be unleashed if SNAP benefits end for 42 million Americans.
Some Democratic senators are privately speculating that if their party does well in the gubernatorial elections in New Jersey and Virginia scheduled for Tuesday, they can declare a political victory and begin to finalize the endgame for reopening government.
Virginia, which will be a Senate battleground in 2026, is home to approximately 140,000 federal employees.
And of course, the largest federal employee union, the American Federation of Government Employees – which represents 820,000 federal and DC government workers – sided with the Republican plan to pass a clean (pork-free) resolution to kick the can and reopen the government – with union president Everett Kelley saying in a Monday statement that “both parties have made their point,” and that it’s time to “end this shutdown today.”
On Wednesday, Senate Majority Leader John Thune (D-SD) told reporters that moderate Democrats are looking for an “off-ramp” for the shutdown, and he’s willing to talk about extending the ACA subsidies after the government has reopened – and has even offered them a vote on their own proposal to extend the tax credits beyond December.
That said, he won’t negotiate specific ACA concessions with Democrats while the government remains closed.
“It’s just a question of whether or not they are at some point willing to take ‘yes’ for an answer,” Thune said of moderate Democrats – however he’s only going to offer them existing Republican proposals – such as getting the appropriations back on track, voting on the expiring subsidies, and committing to further the discussion on healthcare once the federal government is back up and running.
“The stakes are getting higher, which we knew they would. As the shutdown drags on, it becomes more painful for more people,” said Thune.
“What I’ve told them all along is as soon as they’re ready to open up the government that we will ensure that they have a process whereby they can have their chance to get their legislation voted on, their policies voted on,” he said of his discussions with Senate Democratic colleagues. “They’ve become more interested and I hope that continues.”
“They’re looking for an off-ramp,” he continued, noting that the expiration of SNAP benefits is creating a sense of urgency.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) – pictured below getting badgered by Dianne Feinstein a few years ago…
…said that bipartisan talks to end the shutdown have picked up steam given the approaching SNAP-mageddon.
“There is a good group of folks who realize we are well past time to have this behind us. This is not good. This is not good from a governance perspective. This doesn’t reflect well on anybody and it is hurting real people [in] real time so let’s figure out a way to end it,” she said, noting that the disagreements that need to be solved have been discussed at length.
“There have been enough of these pieces that have been talked through that if somebody can just diagram out how it all comes together and present, yes, I do think it’s possible” to end the shutdown next week, she told reporters.
“There’s no great magic in how we get out of this. It’s the same stuff we’ve been talking about for months,” she continued.
And if they don’t fix this, they’re gonna be eating more than the dogs and cats…
NEW: Woman says she will start eating white people if EBT is taken away, says EBT recipients will build their own nation & grow their own food.
“We are going to eat regardless, even if we have to hunt you animals down & roast & eat you, the delectable crackers & cheese.”
“We… pic.twitter.com/Jqat3wgM9o
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) October 29, 2025
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