Sen. Chris Murphy says Dems could end shutdown if GOP agrees to $20B deal, less than prior $1.5T ask

WASHINGTON — Connecticut Sen. Chris Murphy indicated Sunday that the Democrats would likely be willing to end the government shutdown for about $20 billion, a figure far lower than previously requested.

Democratic leadership has publicly demanded a permanent extension of the enhanced Obamacare subsidies, a reversal of the GOP-backed Medicaid reforms, and other concessions, which would cost an estimated $1.5 trillion over the next decade.

“We could probably come up with something pretty quickly,” Murphy (D-Conn.) told CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday. “The president just announced $20 billion going to bail out the Argentinian economy.” 3

“For $20 billion, we could open the government back up. That’s enough money to relieve a lot of pressure,” he continued. “We can get this dea