Thune assures no senator will leave Washington and they will meet with no interruptions until government shutdown is over

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.), said Saturday that senators will not leave Washington until a deal is reached to end the government shutdown, which has now gone 39 days without resolution.

In statements to the press, Thune confirmed that the upper chamber will be in session without interruption, even during the Veterans Day long weekend, originally scheduled as a recess.

Asked whether lawmakers would stay in the capital until a deal was reached, the Republican leader answered in the affirmative, according to a report by The Hill. Saturday's special session was called after a Friday of unexpected twists and turns in negotiations.

Democrats on Friday put forward a proposal that included a one-year extension for enhanced health care subsidies, which are set to expire at the end of December, along with a continuing resolution on funding without modifications and a package of three annual spending bills, known as the "minibus."

Republicans immediately rejected that offer, although a bipartisan group held talks through the early morning hours.

However, Thune called those late-night talks "positive" and emphasized that the immediate goal is to release the minibus text for a vote, ideally this weekend. “We’re getting close to having it ready,” said the Republican leader, who has been in direct contact with members of the Appropriations Committee.

“Ideally, it’d be great to set it up so we could vote today, but we have to … have the votes to actually pass it,” he added, according to The Hill.

No concrete timeline, but...

On a specific timeline, Thune avoided committing: "I don’t have anything for you in terms of a definitive time frame except to say that text has to get out and then we’ve got to hope we have the necessary votes."

Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-Okla.) disclosed, however, that within the Republican conference there is consensus on Jan. 30 deadline for the stopgap funding resolution.

Prior to the Democratic move to include the extension of tax credits, negotiations revolved around a new continuing resolution, a supplemental bill and separate vote to extend those credits.

Thune has reiterated that he can guarantee Democrats a transparent process, but not an outcome that would ensure passage of the extension of the subsidies.