WASHINGTON — On day 34 of the government shutdown, the U.S. Senate voted on two proposals designed to end it, however, neither one could seal the deal.

  • 2 Senate proposals to end shutdown fail to pass
  • Rubio: pathway to citizenship for Dreamers a possibility in deal
  • Senate leaders meeting behind closed doors Thursday night

While a number of lawmakers agreed to vote for both bills, it wasn’t nearly enough. Now, members of Congress are feeling the heat as thousands of federal workers are set to miss their second paycheck.

“The president has made an opening offer, which I believe is a reasonable one,” Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Florida) said.

President Donald Trump’s plan includes $5.7 billion for the border wall. It also offers temporary protections for Dreamers.

The Democratic plan: just a three week long continuing resolution funding the government at current levels for three weeks with some money for disaster relief but no new money for a border wall.

Now, it’s back to the drawing board. Even Republicans, like Florida Sen. Rick Scott, think a better deal could be on the table.

“The way I think about it is why wouldn’t you solve all the problems at one time?” Scott said. “What I want is a permanent fix for the border, so we don’t have to do this in three months or three years. Two, we ought to have a permanent solution for Dreamers and for TPS.”

Sen. Rubio is on the same page. He wants a pathway to citizenship for Dreamers and said that could be on the table in future negotiations.

“That’s one of the concessions the President is prepared to make. That’s not something in the past that he’s been a huge fan of, but he is willing to offer that in exchange for border security,” Rubio said.

“I think those kinds of changes need further discussion and shouldn’t be crammed into this political fight,” said Rep. Stephanie Murphy (D-Florida, 7th District).

Murphy, the leader of the Blue Dog Coalition of moderate Democrats is working to find a way forward, starting with sending letters to leadership of both parties in both chambers.

“We are proposing that there is a bicameral, bipartisan summit to hash out the details of what a compromise plan that would address border security would look like,” she said.

It is unclear what steps lawmakers and President Trump will take next. Senate leaders are meeting behind closed doors on Thursday night.