Shutdown Talks Gain Urgency as Deadlines, Union Pressure Mount

Talks to end the Democrats’ government shutdown have reportedly picked up amid crucial deadlines and mounting outside pressure.

Nearly a month into the stalemate, “the vibes might finally be shifting,” Politico reported Wednesday, as looming food aid cutoffs, travel delays, and calls from the nation’s largest federal workers union to reopen the government push lawmakers toward a deal.

“I think they’ve picked up,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., told Politico of bipartisan talks. “Deadlines have a way of doing that.”