On November 7, the U.S. Senate failed to break through a record-breaking government shutdown now stretching 38 days, with a critical vote falling short of the 60-vote threshold needed to advance legislation and neither party willing to budge on their core demands.​

The day’s main action centered on a procedural vote to invoke cloture on the motion to proceed with S. 3012, the Shutdown Fairness Act sponsored by Senator Ron Johnson (R-Wis.). The measure, designed to provide pay to federal employees required to work during the shutdown and active-duty military members, failed with a final tally of 53 votes in favor and 43 against, seven votes shy of the supermajority needed to overcome a filibuster.​

Three Democrats crossed party lines to support the Republican-backed bill: Senators Ben Ray Luján of New Mexico, Jon Ossoff of Georgia, and Raphael Warnock of Georgia. Four senators—John Cornyn, John Fetterman, Jerry Moran, and Tommy Tuberville—did not vote.

The Johnson bill aimed to guarantee back pay for “excepted” federal employees—those required to continue working during the shutdown, including Transportation Security Administration screeners, Border Patrol agents, air traffic controllers, and military personnel. After initial Democratic objections, Johnson revised the legislation to also include furloughed workers, approximately 700,000 employees who have been sent home without pay.​

Earlier on November 7, Johnson attempted to pass the legislation through unanimous consent, which would have allowed immediate action without a full floor vote. Senator Gary Peters (D-Mich.) objected and proposed his own alternative, the Military and Federal Employee Protection Act, which would have covered pay from October 1 through the date of enactment.

The November 7 session also featured Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) announcing a new Democratic offer aimed at ending the standoff. Speaking from the Senate floor, Schumer proposed a deal that would simultaneously reopen the government with a short-term continuing resolution while extending enhanced Affordable Care Act premium tax credits for one year.​

Under Schumer’s plan, Democrats would support a Republican-backed “clean” continuing resolution to immediately fund government operations through at least November. In exchange, Republicans would agree to a separate one-year extension of expiring ACA subsidies and establish a bipartisan committee to negotiate long-term healthcare affordability measures.

The proposal represented a significant scaling back from Democrats’ earlier demands, which had included a permanent extension of the subsidies and reversal of Medicaid cuts enacted earlier in 2025.

Senate Republicans control the legislative calendar and determine which measures receive floor time.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) immediately rejected Schumer’s proposal, calling it a “nonstarter” just hours after it was announced. Republicans have consistently maintained throughout the shutdown that they will not negotiate on healthcare subsidies until the government is reopened.

Affordable Care Act premium tax credits that are set to expire on December 31, 2025. These subsidies, first introduced in 2021 and extended through 2025 by the Inflation Reduction Act, have helped more than 20 million Americans afford health insurance through ACA marketplaces.​

Without an extension, ACA enrollees will see their annual premiums more than double on average—a 114 percent increase from $888 in 2025 to $1,904 in 2026, according to analysis by the Kaiser Family Foundation. Middle-income enrollees earning above 400 percent of the federal poverty level would lose financial assistance entirely and face the full cost of premium increases.​

Open enrollment for 2026 ACA marketplace plans began on November 1, and consumers shopping for coverage have already encountered sticker shock. Insurers proposed rate increases of up to 18 percent for 2026—the largest increases since 2018—citing uncertainty over the expiring subsidies and rising healthcare costs.

More than 900,000 federal employees have been furloughed, while another two million have been required to work without pay since October 1. Essential workers including air traffic controllers, TSA screeners, Border Patrol agents, and military personnel have now gone over a month without paychecks.​

The Federal Aviation Administration ordered airlines to cut flights by four percent on November 7, with reductions ramping up to 10 percent by November 14 due to air traffic controller staffing shortages.

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which serves 42 million Americans, initially announced it would not distribute November benefits due to the shutdown. Federal courts have since ordered the Trump administration to resume SNAP payments, though the Supreme Court temporarily blocked one such order while the administration appeals.

Other affected programs include the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), and operations at agencies including the National Institutes of Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

With Republicans holding 53 seats in the Senate, they need at least seven Democrats to vote for any funding measure to overcome a filibuster. Thune has ruled out using the “nuclear option” to eliminate the 60-vote filibuster threshold, despite repeated calls from President Trump to do so.