The US Senate’s rare weekend session saw intense debate as Majority Leader John Thune blasted Democrats for demanding a one-year extension of Affordable Care Act subsidies, calling it a “non-starter” and vowing Republicans will only support a clean funding extension to reopen the government. Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer pleaded for a bipartisan breakthrough, citing widespread public support for maintaining current benefits and warning that stalled action risks bankruptcies, loss of insurance, and deepening public harm. Senator Lindsey Graham doubled down, insisting Republicans won’t renew the ACA program for a year and will push for deeper healthcare reforms—leaving the nation’s longest government shutdown in history deadlocked as millions await a solution.