Flyers at Denver International Airport wait for bags on Nov. 7, 2025, the first day of FAA-mandated flight limits during the federal government shutdown.

WASHINGTON – In a sign of tensions thawing between Republicans and Democrats, GOP leaders in Congress teed up a vote Friday, Nov. 7, on advancing legislation to potentially end the record-breaking government shutdown.

The moves came as scores of flights were canceled across the country to ease the pressure on shutdown-stressed air traffic controllers, and as the Justice Department said it would appeal a federal judge's ruling ordering the Trump administration to pay full SNAP food benefits to the states.

The revised Senate bill would keep the federal government's lights on past Thanksgiving. It will also include full-year funding for some, but not all, agencies.

Still, it's not clear if moderate Senate Democrats plan to support the proposal, even as flight cuts mount, food insecurity grows and hundreds of thousands of workers remain without pay on Day 38 of the crisis.

For weeks, Democrats have refused to vote to reopen the government without major investments in reducing health care costs. In the wake of sweeping election wins Nov. 4, progressives have urged the more moderate flanks of their party to hold firm on their shutdown-related demands.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Connecticut, told USA TODAY that a GOP bill that doesn’t include changes to health care would be a “nonstarter.”

Lawmakers didn't fly back to their districts on Thursday as they normally do. Several said they expect to be working through the weekend as negotiations ramp up.

Democrats unveil their path out of shutdown

Senate Democrats on Friday offered Republicans a compromise to end the shutdown that would include a one-year extension of Obamacare subsidies while forming a bipartisan committee to continue negotiations on reforming health care after the government reopens.

"Democrats are offering a very simple compromise," Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said on the floor of the chamber.

--Zachary Schermele

Senate again shoots down measure to pay federal workers during shutdown

Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wisconsin, tried to introduce a measure Friday to pay all federal employees as the shutdown drags on.

"We've had our bill examined exhaustively," Johnson said, noting it's supported by federal worker unions. "Our bill's in a really good place right now. No federal employee would be excluded from this."

Sen. Gary Peters, D-Michigan, objected to the measure, which needed unanimous consent to immediately pass. He argued it would give the White House too much discretion over spending during the funding crisis.

"There's too much wiggle room for the administration to basically pick and choose which federal employees are paid and when," Peters said. "I'm also deeply concerned that this would allow the administration to actually transfer this money to other purposes that aren't intended by Congress, which unfortunately we have seen happen repeatedly in this administration."

Senate Majority Leader John Thune vowed to bring the measure up for a larger vote.

"I am tired of political games," he said.

-Zachary Schermele

Trump says Senate GOP made ‘big mistake’ by not nuking filibuster

President Donald Trump on Friday said Senate Republicans are making a “big mistake” by not getting behind his push to eliminate the filibuster.

“It’s too bad. They’re making a big mistake,” Trump said in response to a question from a reporter. “But they’re coming my way.”

Trump has urged Republicans to get rid of the filibuster – which creates a 60-vote threshold in the Senate to pass most pieces of legislation – to reopen the government and pass pieces of Trump’s policy agenda including new voting laws. Republican leadership in the Senate has resisted the idea, however, and the president lacks the vote to pursue the so-called “nuclear option.”

Trump has argued Republicans need to get rid of the filibuster now before Democrats do it whenever they take control of the Senate again.

“Most of you will admit, the Democrats are going to do that. So why aren’t we doing it?” Trump said. “I think only a foolish person would be against that.

--Joey Garrison

Thune: Shutdown likely won’t go into Thanksgiving

Asked on Fox News Friday whether the shutdown could drag into Thanksgiving, Senate Majority Leader John Thune was skeptical.

“I don’t believe so,” he said.

If the crisis continues even longer, Democrats will be to blame, he said.

“There’s a path forward here,” he said. “We’ve offered them a solution.”

-Zachary Schermele

Canceled flights spotlight shutdown pain to pressure Congress

Furloughs cut government services and the administration threatened to cut off SNAP benefits, but hundreds of flight cancelations have given travel woes the spotlight of shutdown pain as the Thanksgiving holiday approaches.

The chief executive of American Airlines said the growing cancelations from shortages of air traffic controllers and Transportation Security Administration officers will be “problematic.” The U.S. Travel Association created a ticker tabulating the cost of the shutdown to the industry, which rattled along Nov. 7 above $5 billion.

"There's no political party that will win if Thanksgiving gets completely screwed up because of their politics – everybody loses," said Chris Sununu, CEO of Airlines for America, an advocacy group for companies with 2.7 million travelers on 27,000 flights daily. "They better get their act together and figure this thing out."

--Bart Jansen and Reuters

Few details out on Friday shutdown vote

The Senate is scheduled to convene at noon Friday, but it’s still unclear when they’ll vote.

It’s possible more Senate Democrats could defect and support the measure. But it’s not likely to pass unless it includes significant changes to health care, which aren’t planned to be in the bill, lawmakers told USA TODAY Thursday evening.

As of 9 a.m., the revised text hadn’t been released.

Senators were scheduled to have a recess next week, but many have advocated for sticking around through the weekend and into next week to resolve the crisis.

-Zachary Schermele

Federal judge orders government to fund SNAP by Friday

A federal judge in Rhode Island has ordered the Trump administration to fully cover federal food assistance for 42 million Americans in November by Friday.

According to CNN, federal District Judge John McConnell said during a hastily called hearing Nov. 6 that USDA has not worked quickly enough to release the funds pursuant to his earlier order and that the government had acted “arbitrarily and capriciously” in deciding not to shift other funds to fully fund SNAP.

The Nov. 6 order from McConnell comes days after the administration, in response to an earlier order, said it would provide only partial food stamp benefits for November by using some of the nearly $6 billion in a contingency fund maintained by the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).

SNAP disruptions leave grocers bracing for lost sales

Like the millions of Americans who rely on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, retailers are bracing for the effects of reduced or delayed funding to a program that typically injects billions of dollars into the U.S. economy each month.

The federal government spent $99.8 billion on SNAP in fiscal year 2024, averaging more than $8 billion per month. The Congressional Budget Office in January estimated outlays of more than $100 billion for the program in 2025, though the actual spending this year is uncertain due to recent budget shifts and the ongoing government shutdown.

Read more about how grocery stores are preparing.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Senate to vote again. Thune says shutdown won't likely go into Thanksgiving. Live updates

Reporting by Zachary Schermele, Sarah D. Wire, Rachel Barber and Bart Jansen, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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