Shutdown Day 29: Senate leader says Democrats looking for 'off-ramp'

Whiffs of cautious optimism emerged Wednesday after congressional talks to end the U.S. government shutdown were making some headway, the rub being members on both sides were casting the other as about to crack.

The shutdown entered its 30th day on Thursday. And while there have been ongoing informal talks between rank-and-file Senate Democrats through recent weeks, none have led to a resolution.

But Wednesday, Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) said he is expected to meet soon with a group of rank-and-file Democrats and that cross-party talks among other senators have "ticked up significantly."

Some Republicans downplayed that much had really changed. And Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said Republicans aren’t offering anything different. He did add, though, he was hopeful "that will change." Still, some senators were more quietly claiming they sensed a shift in mood by the other side toward wanting a deal.

Such talk did not depict any formal break in the hiatus of direct negotiations between the top leaders from both parties in both chambers or the White House, as the president is set to return later this week from his trip to Asia.

The notion of stepped-up other bipartisan conversations comes as Republicans see the pause of federal food aid on Saturday for 42 million Americans as motivation for Democrats to seek a shutdown resolution, along with other lapses in funding, such as federal worker pay.

"They’re looking for an off-ramp," Thune said.

Meanwhile, Schumer and other Democrats continue to say they won’t back down from their demands that a House GOP bill to reopen government must include a renewal or continuation of Obamacare subsidies, which are set to expire at the end of the year.

As they see it, when millions of Americans begin to see in the coming days how their Obamacare premium costs will increase, along with the lapse in food aid, pressure will rise on Republicans to negotiate.

"Right now, we're staring down the barrel at two crises at once — a health care crisis and a hunger crisis — and both are caused by one man: Donald Trump," Schumer said.

Developments in the shutdown stalemate Thursday morning will feature input at House Speaker Mike Johnson’s (R-La.) daily press conference from four New York House Republicans: Reps. Nick LaLota of Amityville; Andrew Garbarino of Bayport; Mike Lawler of Pearl River; and Claudia Tenney of New Hartford.

The lawmakers are expected to talk about the shutdown's impact on New York. But the topic of New York Democratic mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani is likely to come up, as it did on Wednesday from Johnson, when he tried to link Mamdani to the shutdown.

"We can't allow a rise of Marxist and far-left activist in one party to shut down the entire operation of the federal government, and that is exactly what they are allowing them to do," Johnson said.