What to know on Day 34 of the government shutdown:

Senate Majority Leader John Thune said he's "optimistic" about ending the government shutdown this week, and that the upper chamber would take its 14th vote on a House-passed funding bill on Tuesday.

"I just think, based on, sort of, my gut of how these things operate, I think we're getting close to an off-ramp here," the South Dakota Republican told reporters at the Capitol.

The shutdown is set to become the longest on record on Tuesday evening, when it would surpass the record set in 2019.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of Agriculture told a federal court that it will tap into a contingency fund to allow states to issue partial November benefits under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. Eligible households will rec

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