Senate Majority Leader John Thune told fellow Republicans in a private lunch that he plans to hold a vote Friday that could pave the way to end the government shutdown, according to two people in the room who were granted anonymity to describe his comments. The plan, the people said, is to bring up the House-passed continuing resolution that Democrats have repeatedly rejected and then seek to amend it with a new expiration date very likely in January as well as a negotiated package of three full-year spending bills. Thune believes the deal will win the support of enough Democrats to advance, though the outcome is not guaranteed, the people said. Finalizing the deal could take days due to procedural hurdles and objections from senators.
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