Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) said on Monday that he is “optimistic” lawmakers can strike a deal to reopen the government by the end of the week, and he is considering a stopgap spending bill into January or later as the proposed late-November date in the House-passed bill is no longer feasible.

The GOP leader told reporters that while he isn’t “confident” about the shutdown ending, he was more upbeat as talks continued among a bipartisan group of rank-and-file lawmakers through the weekend toward a potential resolution.

"Based on my gut and how these things operate, I think we're getting close to an off-ramp,” Thune said at the Capitol. "The objective here is to try and get something that we could send back to the House that would open up the government.”

Among the items o

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