Senate’s 12th Attempt to End Shutdown Fails, Oz’s $1B Medicaid Claim Ignored

12th attempt to end US Govt Shutdown Fails as it Enters Third Week

The ongoing government shutdown in the United States has continued into its third week, as the Senate failed to end it for the 12th time on late Monday. The deadlock appears to persist, with no signs of a resolution even in the light of alarming new evidence related to a principal issue causing the legislative stalemate.

Cloture Vote Falls Short of Required Majority

The Senate was unable to amass the needed 60 votes to approve a “cloture” vote, which would limit the ongoing debate before a final vote on the shutdown. The vote yielded a result of 53 in favor and 43 against. Despite the possibility of a reconsideration of the vote on Tuesday, no signals suggest a different outcome at present.

The Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act

The Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, a continuing resolution (CR), is aimed at funding the federal government until the end of November. However, it has been met with opposition from both ends of the political spectrum. Senators Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) and Angus King, an Independent from Maine who aligns with Democrats, sided with Republicans on the cloture vote. The House of Representatives, dominated by Republicans, passed the Act last month. Despite this, Senate proceedings on the Act have stagnated since the onset of the shutdown on October 1.

Resistance from Within

Senator Rand Paul (R-Ky.) has been an unwavering critic of the Act, voting against it at every turn. He argues that the Act maintains high spending levels set during President Joe Biden’s administration. This has made it difficult for the Senate GOP to secure the passage of the CR.

Sticking Points in the Debate

President Donald Trump, Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.), and Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-La.), have argued that supporting the CR would dismantle substantial health care reforms enacted by Congress earlier in the year through the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) of 2025. A White House Fact Sheet released on the first day of the shutdown claims that the Democratic proposal would spend nearly $200 billion on healthcare for non-citizens and undocumented immigrants over the coming decade.

The Democratic Stance

Democrats maintain that illegal immigrants are not beneficiaries of federal programs such as Medicaid, as it is unlawful. They demand that Republicans agree to repeal the OBBBA reforms, including making temporary pandemic-related Obamacare subsidies permanent. If these temporary benefits are not made permanent, Democrats warn, nearly 20 million Americans may face steep increases in insurance premiums. These subsidies were first approved under the American Rescue Act of 2021 and were extended to 2025 through the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, both endorsed by the Biden administration.

Controversy over Federal Healthcare Funds

An internal investigation by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) has raised questions about the validity of claims made by Democrats. In an interview with Fox News, CMS Administrator Mehmet Oz stated that their investigators found multiple instances of Medicaid funds being used for undocumented immigrants. He stated that over a billion dollars had been used for this purpose in several states. These findings contradict previous assertions by Democrats that no federal funds are being used to provide healthcare to illegal immigrants.

Despite requests for comment on these CMS findings, representatives for Schumer and Jeffries did not respond by the time this story was published.