Senate kicks off votes to end shutdown as Chuck Schumer faces calls to step aside: Live updates

The Senate has started voting on a funding bill to end the ongoing government shutdown.

Before lawmakers vote to approve the measure, they will vote on an amendment to the bill that Senator Rand Paul, a Kentucky Republican, has pushed for.

The amendment would strip the proposal of a provision that targets hemp regulations, which Paul says would “unfairly target Kentucky’s hemp industry.”

Mike Johnson won’t commit to holding a House vote on a bill dealing with expiring Affordable Care Act subsidies, telling CNN’s Jake Tapper that he supports a “deliberative process” in the lower chamber.

“I’m not committing to it or not committing to it,” he said. “What I’m saying is we do a deliberative process. That’s the way this always works. And we have to have time to do that, and we will in a bipartisan fashion.”

So what if a bipartisan bill to pass those ACA subsidies were to pass in the Senate, Tapper asked. The current funding deal includes an agreement for a vote on those subsidies.

“I can’t commit to anything that hasn’t even passed in the Senate yet,” Johnson said.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the democratic socialist vanguard in the House, released a fundraising email criticizing Republicans on the government shutdown.

“It’s kind of interesting, because Republicans are an anti-government party — they fundamentally do not believe in governance. That is why they’re all about cuts, ending things, stopping things, etc,” the email said. “And so, the interesting part is that when you are an anti-government party, and win an election, you become the government — and you don’t know what to do.”

Ocasio-Cortez’s email came as the Senate is preparing to vote on a continuing resolution after a handful of Senate Democrats crossed over to work with Republicans. That has led to a revolt and calls for Ocasio-Cortez to challenge Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer when he is up for re-election in 2028, despite the fact that Schumer voted against the agreement.

But Ocasio-Cortez refrained from criticizing the Democratic leadership.

“A party that’s in charge of the House, Senate, and Presidency — and complete partisan takeover of the Supreme Court — is going to somehow turn and tell people that anything is anything but their fault?” Ocasio-Cortez wrote. “Give me a break.”

Ocasio-Cortez is riding off the success of her preferred candidate for mayor of New York City Zohran Mamdani handily beating disgraced former governor Andrew Cuomo.

Representative-elect Adelita Grijalva told CNN’s Jake Tapper Monday evening she’ll vote against a funding bill to open the government.

The Senate will soon vote on a funding bill that, if approved, will go to the House for a vote.

“ This compromise, if you wanna call it that, does nothing to save healthcare for the American people,” she said.

Grijalva has been waiting to be sworn into office since being elected in September. House Speaker Mike Johnson has sent representatives home amid the ongoing government shutdown.

This will make for an awkward Thanksgiving. The daughter of one of the top Democratic senators who brokered the deal to end the government shutdown blasted the deal.

Stefany Shaheen, the daughter of Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, is running for Congress in New Hampshire’s 1st congressional district. The elder Shaheen, a former governor of the state who is retiring at the end of 2026, was one of a handful of Democrats who brokered a deal to end the government shutdown.

But the younger Shaheen criticized it, saying she could not support it because House Speaker Mike Johnson did not guarantee a vote on extending Covid-era tax credits for the Affordable Care Act’s health insurance marketplace.

“We both need to end the shutdown and extend ACA tax credits. Otherwise no deal,” Stefany Shaheen said. Stefany Shaheen is running for the seat being vacated by Rep. Chris Pappas, who is running for her mother’s seat.

But Jeanne Shaheen, 78, dodged when asked about her daughter’s announcement.

“My daughter’s very independent, that’s why she’s going to be such a great congresswoman,” she told The Independent. “And she knows a lot about the health care system, because she’s been working in it for over 20 years. Her daughter’s a type one diabetic, and she started a health care company.”

The deal sparked outrage across the spectrum of Democrats, ranging from moderates like Pappas to progressives like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

House Speaker Mike Johnson told CNN’s Jake Tapper Monday evening that he believes the “long national nightmare” of the ongoing government shutdown will come to an end soon.

Johnson said he believes the Senate will vote to approve a funding bill to open the federal government.

“The long national nightmare is almost coming to an end now,” he said.

Senators could be voting on an agreement that would allow them to expedite a proposed temporary funding bill to end the government shutdown.

Republican Senator Rand Paul, who has threatened to hold out on his vote in order to strip the proposal of a provision that targets hemp regulations, is also expected to receive a vote on his amendment.