Two days after Democrats secured victories in numerous states, the internal debate within their party regarding the government shutdown has only intensified. This has created a rift between progressives, who are determined to maintain their stance, and moderates, who are seeking a potential resolution.

A contingent of progressive Senators has been pressuring colleagues to reject any deal that would reopen the government without a firm commitment to extend the, the primary point of contention in the shutdown, which has now reached its sixth week, making it the longest in history.

“If they concede now and proceed with an inconsequential vote, I believe it will be a terrible policy decision, and politically, for the Democrats,” progressive Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont told reporters. “Some of you may have heard the expression, ‘when we fight, we win.’ …Well, when you cave, you lose.”

However, several moderate-leaning Democrats on Thursday declined to state how they would vote on any proposal that lacked a binding commitment to extend the ACA subsidies. “My red line is those people [losing health care],” Sen. Ron Wyden, an Oregon Democrat, told TIME. “I’ll leave it at that.”

President Donald Trump admitted this week that the shutdown was a “significant, negative factor” in the Republican Party’s election losses on Tuesday—an admission that Democrats highlighted as justification for holding their ground. “Donald Trump clearly is feeling pressure to bring this shutdown to an end,” Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, stated on the Senate floor. “Well, I have good news for the president: Meet with Democrats, reopen the government.”

Yet, the party remains divided on whether the election outcomes constituted a mandate from voters to continue pushing their health care demands. “If you think because we won elections that we’ve expected to do that to keep our government shut down, then that would confirm that it’s a political game,” Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, a vocal critic of his party’s shutdown strategy, tells TIME.

Adding to the urgency for ending the shutdown, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced on Wednesday plans to reduce air traffic by 10% across 40 major markets starting Friday, citing safety concerns amidst severe staffing shortages. This action almost certainly guaranteed further travel chaos heading into the weekend, serving as a powerful symbol of the shutdown’s widespread repercussions.

The fundamental aspect of the dispute remains unchanged: Senate Democrats are unwilling to reopen the government without a firm pledge to extend crucial Affordable Care Act subsidies that are set to expire at the end of the year, while Speaker Mike Johnson and House Republicans refuse to guarantee even a future vote on the issue. This deadlock has prolonged what is now the longest shutdown in U.S. history.

“I’m not promising anybody anything,” Johnson informed reporters Thursday morning, outright rejecting a request from Senate negotiators to ensure a House vote on extending the subsidies. Several Senate Democrats indicated that Johnson’s remarks were problematic, prompting negotiators to scramble for new options even as pressure mounted to provide relief to millions of furloughed federal workers and families missing food assistance payments.

Senate Republicans are planning to hold another vote on Friday for the House-passed continuing resolution, which would reopen the government but has been rejected 14 times by Senate Democrats.

Republicans have also proposed reopening the government until at least January, by advancing three full-year spending bills covering veterans’ programs, agriculture, and the legislative branch, and guaranteeing a future vote on the expiring health subsidies. That vote, however, would offer no promise of passage—or of support from the House or White House.

“I don’t see the movement by the president or the speaker or the leader to do that,” Sen. Chris Coons, Democrat of Delaware, told reporters. “If their position remains, we will not speak to you, we’re gonna have a really hard time resolving this.”

Trump is urging his party to resolve the crisis by, stating in a video posted Wednesday that the chamber’s 60-vote threshold for legislation should be “terminated.” Senate Majority Leader John Thune of South Dakota, the top Republican in the chamber, has continued to dismiss this idea.

Johnson’s own demeanor has become more rigid as the week has progressed. “I’m less optimistic this morning than I was yesterday,” he said Thursday, attributing the blame to Schumer for “pulling back” centrist Democrats from negotiating too closely with Republicans.

As the shutdown persists, a new element in the discussions has garnered attention from both parties: a potential reversal of the White House’s mass firings of federal employees. Several Republicans have suggested that reinstating those positions—along with providing back pay to furloughed workers—could be part of a broader deal to reopen the government.

“We’re still negotiating that language,” Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, the Republican chairwoman of the Appropriations Committee, told reporters. Collins said she wants dismissed workers to be “recalled,” adding that it was important to “get the government functioning again in a fair way.”

This issue could provide a face-saving compromise, especially for Senate Republicans seeking to demonstrate responsiveness to federal workers in their home states. Yet, progressives remain cautious about sacrificing leverage for a limited solution without ACA extensions.

Even if the Senate reaches an agreement, lawmakers warn that it could take several days for any bill to clear both chambers—especially since the House has been out of session since mid-September. Some Senate Republicans are pushing to adjourn next week for the Veterans Day recess if talks stall, a move that could further intensify public anger as paychecks for federal workers are once again due.

Democrats assert that the message from voters is clear: do not yield. “We are winning the hearts and minds of the American people,” Sen. Richard Blumenthal, a Connecticut Democrat, told reporters. “We’ve come this far and the American people seem to be with us.”

But others, like Fetterman, caution that the political risks of continued brinkmanship are escalating. “We love to overplay our hands. It’s like we had great results with that election,” he told TIME. “But that doesn’t mean we’ve changed the dynamic in D.C.”

For now, that warning has gone unheeded. As the FAA braces for additional flight disruptions, food assistance programs remain suspended, and federal workers anticipate another missed paycheck, Washington remains ensnared in a familiar stalemate.