Thune sours on ‘rifle shot’ bills as Republicans eye shutdown endgame

Published October 28, 2025 12:37pm ET



Republicans are souring on a strategy to reopen the government piecemeal, with GOP leadership all but shelving bills to help air traffic controllers and troops going without pay during the shutdown.

“There’s not a high level of interest in doing carve-outs, or so-called rifle shots,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) said on Tuesday. 

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