NEW: Senate Republicans’ Plan To End Historic Government Shutdown Is Revealed

The ice around Washington’s record-breaking government shutdown is finally starting to crack, even if only slightly, according to new reporting from Fox News’ Chad Pergram.

“There seems to be some indication of a thaw,” said Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., on Thursday, as lawmakers from both parties showed faint signs of movement after 37 days of gridlock.

With federal workers still unpaid, air travel disrupted, and emergency food benefits frozen, members on both sides are desperate for a deal. The problem is, no one knows what that deal looks like. “I’m optimistic that we should get something done this week,” said Sen. Mike Rounds, R-S.D. “I think there’s a path forward here.”

That optimism is rare. On Tuesday, Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., predicted a Senate vote by Thursday or Friday. But even he wasn’t sure. “I’m just making assumptions,” Mullin said. By Wednesday, he was already back on FOX Business, blasting Democrats for “ridiculous demands to take authority away from President Trump.”

Republicans know the House’s short-term funding bill from September is a nonstarter. It only lasts until Nov. 21, which would dump Congress right back into another shutdown before Christmas. Instead, GOP leaders are pushing for a longer stopgap through late January. “We’ve lost five weeks,” said Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D. “So the November 21st deadline no longer makes a lot of sense.”

But even that plan needs Democratic support to break a filibuster, and that’s where things freeze up again. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., kept it vague after a Tuesday huddle with Democrats, saying only, “We had a very good caucus and we’re exploring all the options.”

Some Democrats aren’t buying what the GOP is selling. “It seems they’re pretty dug in and they’re okay, screwing people over on their healthcare,” said Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz. House Democrats are also wary after Schumer helped Republicans avoid a filibuster in March, which infuriated progressives. “We said from the very beginning that we will evaluate in good faith any bipartisan agreement that emerges from the Senate,” said House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., admitted Thursday, “I don’t think any of us expected that it would drag on this long.” Still, Senate Republicans are trying again, pitching a plan to reopen parts of the government by funding the VA, military construction, agriculture, and Congress itself through September 2026, while keeping the rest of the government running until late January.

Whether Democrats go along remains unclear. “I’m less optimistic this morning than I was yesterday,” Johnson said. “What I understand is that Chuck Schumer has pulled them back from that.”

Progressives, fired up by Tuesday’s election results, are pushing Schumer to stand his ground. “There is no reason to surrender now. Every reason to stand firm,” Blumenthal said. Rep. Pramila Jayapal, D-Wash., added, “He’s got to keep doing it and we’ve got to deliver a win because we can’t have what happened in the spring happen again.”

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