Thune, GOP reject pushing 'rifle-shot' government funding bills during shutdown
Some lawmakers are getting anxious to fund key programs and pay federal workers as the shutdown drags on, but even so, most Senate Republicans argue that the best way to...
By Fox News · Fox News
Some lawmakers are getting anxious to fund key programs and pay federal workers as the shutdown drags on, but even so, most Senate Republicans argue that the best way to ensure paydays and benefits is to reopen the government. While Senate Republicans and Democrats are entrenched in a stalemate that has seen the shutdown drag into its 29th day, a handful of lawmakers has pushed bills that would pay the military, working federal workers and air traffic controllers, and fund federal food benefits. One of those bills, from Sen. Ron Johnson , R-Wis., got a chance on the floor but was blocked by Senate Democrats last week. SCHUMER, DEMS CALL 'BULL----' ON TRUMP ADMINISTRATION OVER FOOD STAMP SHUTDOWN THREAT Since then others, including Sens. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., and Ted Cruz , R-Texas, have pushed piecemeal funding bills, dubbed "rifle shots" by Republicans, as a way to fund portions of the federal workforce. Both Hawley and Cruz, whose bill would pay air traffic controllers, were hopeful that their legislation would get a shot on the floor. "Listen, my goal is just to make sure that 42 million Americans don't go without food starting this weekend," Hawley told Fox News Digital. "So, the only way I can see to do that is to vote on the floor. It will get blocked any other way." But Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., pumped the brakes on the likelihood of those bills seeing floor time, doubling down throughout the week against funding the government one chunk at a time. SCHUMER AGAIN BLOCKS GOP BID TO REOPEN GOVERNMENT AS AIR TRAFFIC CONTROLLERS GO UNPAID "You start going down that road with one-off bills or take care of this group or that group, and it's just like, it begs the larger question, how long… is this going to drag on? I think that the quickest way to end it is to just open everything up and then everybody gets paid," Thune said. While there is a demand among Republicans to see federal workers get paid and to ensure the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance…