After more than a dozen failed attempts to end the ongoing government shutdown, Senate leaders are now acknowledging that even if Congress were to pass a short-term funding measure, it wouldn’t keep the government open long enough to make a meaningful difference.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune said Monday that lawmakers will need to adjust the funding deadline in the existing House-passed bill, which currently extends government operations only through Nov. 21.

“The date is going to have to change,” Thune told reporters.

When the House originally approved the stopgap measure over a month ago—just before the shutdown began—it would have provided about seven weeks of funding, giving lawmakers time to negotiate full-year appropriations. But with the shutdown now in its 34th day, that window has shrunk to less than three weeks, leaving too little time for Congress to complete its work before facing another lapse in funding.

Thune said the Senate is now exploring a revised short-term spending bill that would push the deadline further into December or early next year, allowing appropriators a more realistic timeline to finalize the government’s budget.

The current impasse marks the second-longest shutdown in U.S. history, with hundreds of thousands of federal workers still furloughed and critical programs—from food assistance to airport security—operating under severe strain.

Despite growing pressure from both parties to end the standoff, lawmakers remain deeply divided over spending priorities and whether to include funding for President Donald Trump’s border and tariff enforcement initiatives in any compromise package.