Thune Says Nov. 21 Date in Funding Bill “Is Going to Have to Change” Amid Shutdown Impasse

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) told reporters today that the House-passed continuing resolution (CR), which currently extends government funding at existing levels until November 21, 2025, will need to be amended or replaced. He said the date is no longer realistic given the lack of progress on full-year appropriations bills. CBS News

What Thune said

• “The date’s going to have to change,” Thune said when asked about the Nov. 21 deadline. “The idea that we could get appropriations bills done by November the 21st now, that date’s lost. So it’s a question now of what the next date is.” CBS News
• He told reporters that if there is no “progress or some evidence of that by at least the middle of this week, it’s hard to see how we would finish anything by the end of the week.” CBS News
• Thune noted that changing the date would require procedural maneuvering: either a new CR would be passed, or the existing one would be amended, which would require either unanimous consent in the Senate or at least 60 votes (meaning a handful of Democrats would need to join). CBS News

Why this matters

• If the Nov. 21 deadline is extended, it signals that lawmakers believe more time is needed to craft full appropriations rather than simply relying on the stop-gap CR. That raises the stakes: the shutdown could stretch further or reopen under different terms.
• A changed date could open the door to longer-term funding deals (e.g., into January or beyond), which may bring more policy trade-offs. Fox News
• For federal agencies, workers, and dependent programs, a moving deadline means more uncertainty and risk of prolonged disruption.
• For political calculus, admitting the date is lost shifts the narrative from “we’ll finish by Nov 21” to “we’re buying more time” — which may affect public perception and leverage.

What to watch

• Will the House return to session to take up an amended CR? Thune implied that House action would be necessary to reopen the government under a modified timeline. CBS News
• Will the Senate leadership propose a specific new date (e.g., January 2026) or leave it open-ended? Some Republican sources reportedly consider early next year as a placeholder. Fox News
• How will Democrats respond? They may insist on linking funding to policy issues (e.g., health-care subsidies) if the runway lengthens.
• Will the shift in deadline create greater pressure to negotiate a longer-term funding plan rather than a short CR?
• What happens to programs already impacted by the shutdown (e.g., benefits, contractors, agencies) if funding remains uncertain for an extended period?

Bottom line

Senate Majority Leader John Thune says the November 21 deadline in the current funding bill is no longer viable, and lawmakers will need to agree on a new date if the government is to be reopened and appropriations completed. With this admission, the shutdown’s finish line becomes less clear—and the urgency multiplies.

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